FRISCO, Texas — Kellen Moore will remain as the Dallas Cowboys‘ offensive coordinator, agreeing to a multiyear deal on Saturday night.
Dallas didn’t announce the length of the contract, but a source said it’s a three-year deal.
In a statement released by the Cowboys, Moore said he would no longer pursue the Boise State job. He was almost immediately linked to the opening after Bryan Harsin left for Auburn. Moore had a record-setting career for the Broncos from 2008 to 2011, winning 50 games in four seasons.
“I love Boise State. I will always root for them, and I hope one day to be a part of the program again,” Moore said. “We are building something special here in Dallas. I am thankful to the Jones family and [head coach] Mike McCarthy for providing me with the opportunity to coach these special players. I am excited for us to put it all together and finish the job.”
Moore, whose contract was set to expire after the season, is finishing his second season as the Cowboys’ playcaller. In 2019, the Cowboys had the top-ranked NFL offense in terms of yards per game (431.5) and finished second in passing (296.9) and fifth in rushing (134.6) as quarterback Dak Prescott posted career highs in passing yards (4,902) and touchdowns (30). The Cowboys had the eighth-best scoring offense (25.8).
This season has been much more challenging with the Cowboys (6-9) starting four different quarterbacks. Prescott was lost in the fifth game of the season with a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that required surgery. Andy Dalton started the next two games before sustaining a concussion and missing a game on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which forced rookie Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert to make the first starts of their careers.
The Cowboys were also forced to remake their offensive line numerous times with right tackle La’el Collins not playing in a game because of hip surgery and left tackle Tyron Smith playing in just two before undergoing neck surgery. Right guard Zack Martin will miss his fifth straight game because of a calf strain and sixth overall Sunday.
This season, the Cowboys have the 12th-ranked offense in terms of yards, are seventh in passing and 17th in rushing. They are 16th in scoring, averaging 25.1 points per game.
In the past three games, the offense has been on an uptick with Dalton and Moore finding a rhythm. The Cowboys’ offense has contributed 94 of the 108 points Dallas has scored in its three-game winning streak.
In last weekend’s victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys racked up 514 yards of offense, eclipsing 500 yards for the fourth time this season, tying for the most in team history with the 1978, 1966 and 2019 offenses. They also had three pass plays of more than 50 yards, the most by a team in a game this season.
When his name surfaced as a candidate for the Boise State opening, Cowboys players praised Moore, who is only 32 and in his third season as a coach. He served as the Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach in 2018 before moving up to the coordinator job. He was a backup quarterback for the Cowboys for parts of three seasons (2015-17).
“I think Kellen could make be a good head coach. I think he will be a hell of a head coach,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said two weeks ago. “I would say, one, just his football knowledge. He’s so smart. He was a smart football player and that was his biggest strength when he was a football player here was how smart he is and his knowledge of the game. And then I’d say probably just his ability to be personable, his ability to motivate. He has a little bit of a different technique but it still gets the job done and you know I think he’d do a great job being a head coach.”
One of McCarthy’s first tasks as Cowboys head coach last January was keeping Moore as coordinator and playcaller. He has consistently praised him all season.
“I can only tell you that we think the world of Kellen. He’s done an incredible job here,” McCarthy said after last weekend’s win against the Eagles.
