News: BTB: Report: Kellen Moore emerges as serious contender for Cowboys offensive coordinator

[NewsBot]

And a familiar face would fill Moore’s current role.

The Cowboys have now entered the third day of their search for a new offensive coordinator, and as our own DannyPhantom wrote yesterday, three candidates seem to have emerged as the finalists with one mystery candidate, maybe quarterbacks coach Kellen Moore, also in the mix. Sunday morning, NFL insider Ian Rapoport dropped some insight on the search.

While the #Cowboys’ OC job remains open, the current staff is in place. And still, they are looking to add. I’m told they’re considering bringing former QB Jon Kitna in to work with their offense, likely QBs, source said. He was most recently an OC with the @AAFFleet.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2019

One possibility for the #Cowboys — and something that allows the Jon Kitna interest to make sense — is to promote fast-rising, impressive QB coach Kellen Moore to offensive coordinator. At the least, that is in the discussions of how to proceed. https://t.co/UdNoaZcitq

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2019​

NFL Network’s Jane Slater, who covers the Cowboys more closely, was quick to come in and confirm that Moore is in fact in consideration for the offensive coordinator position.

I’m told “don’t laugh, this is a legitimate candidate” in Dallas https://t.co/hgt0onfroB

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 20, 2019​

Moore just finished his first year as the quarterbacks coach for Dallas. Before that, he was a backup quarterback in Detroit and Dallas for six seasons. His offensive coordinator for five of those seasons was Scott Linehan, which makes some more hesitant against Moore.

Playing in college at Boise State, Moore was one of the most prolific quarterbacks at the time and he set tons of records. He went undrafted largely because he didn’t have the physical traits to play the position, but scouts raved about his football IQ. This seemed to be a big reason why Dak Prescott lobbied for him to become the quarterbacks coach last summer, and why some think Moore has a bright future as a coach:

I’ve mentioned this before— Kellen Moore is a rising star and he’ll be in the mix for HC gigs (CFB or NFL) in the near future. https://t.co/hLjOb4HAUc

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) January 20, 2019​

The news about former Cowboys backup quarterback Jon Kitna joining the staff is also intriguing. After an 18-year playing career, Kitna has spent the last seven seasons as a high school football head coach and is now the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Fleet of the startup Alliance of American Football league. There, his head coach is Mike Martz, who famously constructed the Greatest Show on Turf with the Rams.

Time will tell if the Cowboys view Moore as the favorite to land the job, and it’s likely that they wait a few more days to interview assistants from the four playoff teams. But at the very least it’s a real possibility that Moore could become the next Cowboys offensive coordinator.

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