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When Kellen Moore was formally introduced as the New Orleans Saints' new head coach, team owner Gayle Benson made a public pledge to give him whatever he needed to be successful. That included a week of travel with her private jet. Thanks to publicly available aviation data, we've been able to plot out all of Moore's stops on the pro day circuit this week, a month before the 2025 NFL draft. So where has Moore been visiting?
To start, Moore joined general manager Mickey Loomis, assistant GM Jeff Ireland, both of his coordinators (Brandon Staley and Doug Nussmeier), and a group of other coaches and scouts on a late-afternoon March 23 flight to South Florida for the Miami Hurricanes' pro day on Monday, March 24. After watching Cam Ward's throwing session and chopping it up with other prospects, most of the group flew to Austin, Texas where they had dinner with a large group of Longhorns prospects, including quarterback Quinn Ewers.
On Tuesday, March 25, Moore and Co. met up with assistant coaches Bo Davis (defensive line) and Terry Joseph (defensive pass game coordinator) at the Texas pro day for a longer look. But they didn't stay in the Lone Star State for long. That evening Moore, Ireland, and other personnel took Benson's private jet to Columbus in advance of the Ohio State Buckeyes pro day the next morning.
Then on Wednesday, March 26, Moore and Ireland observed the Buckeyes pro day (Moore was seen talking animatedly with Ohio State quarterback Will Howard) while Loomis joined his other assistant GM Khai Harley and pro personnel director Michael Parenton at the LSU Tigers pro day. Loomis was credentialed for both LSU and Ohio State but ultimately ended up in Baton Rouge, where he's made frequent appearances over the years. After the Ohio State pro day, Moore and other Saints personnel flew to Athens, Ga., where they had dinner with several Georgia Bulldogs prospects -- most notably outside linebacker/defensive end Mykel Williams.
They weren't finished. On Thursday, March 27, Moore and his retinue took a quick flight from Athens to Knoxville, where they met up privately with a group of Tennessee Volunteers; among them were defensive tackles Omarr Norman-Lott and Elijah Simmons, and star running back Dylan Sampson. It's tough to look at this and not compare it to Sean Payton's famous campus visit with Alvin Kamara in Knoxville all those years ago.
Where will the Saints go next? Penn State and Ole Miss will hold their pro days on Friday, then the circuit quiets down significantly, with Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter working out with their teammates in front of NFL scouts next Friday, April 4. Benson is expected to be in Palm Beach, Fla. for the annual spring owners meetings from March 30-April 2, so we'll see how that impacts Moore's travel schedule.
Either way, it says a lot that Benson was willing to foot the bill for Moore and other Saints decision-makers to fly around the country visiting with draft prospects at pro days, invite-only dinners, and private workouts. We'll see if it makes a difference, and it's unclear just how different this approach has been from what Dennis Allen and Sean Payton experienced as head coach. But to this point Benson has made good on her word to support Moore's endeavors. There are some owners around the league who pinch their pennies a little tighter.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Tracking New Orleans Saints pro day visits, 2025 NFL draft meetings
Continue reading...
To start, Moore joined general manager Mickey Loomis, assistant GM Jeff Ireland, both of his coordinators (Brandon Staley and Doug Nussmeier), and a group of other coaches and scouts on a late-afternoon March 23 flight to South Florida for the Miami Hurricanes' pro day on Monday, March 24. After watching Cam Ward's throwing session and chopping it up with other prospects, most of the group flew to Austin, Texas where they had dinner with a large group of Longhorns prospects, including quarterback Quinn Ewers.
On Tuesday, March 25, Moore and Co. met up with assistant coaches Bo Davis (defensive line) and Terry Joseph (defensive pass game coordinator) at the Texas pro day for a longer look. But they didn't stay in the Lone Star State for long. That evening Moore, Ireland, and other personnel took Benson's private jet to Columbus in advance of the Ohio State Buckeyes pro day the next morning.
Then on Wednesday, March 26, Moore and Ireland observed the Buckeyes pro day (Moore was seen talking animatedly with Ohio State quarterback Will Howard) while Loomis joined his other assistant GM Khai Harley and pro personnel director Michael Parenton at the LSU Tigers pro day. Loomis was credentialed for both LSU and Ohio State but ultimately ended up in Baton Rouge, where he's made frequent appearances over the years. After the Ohio State pro day, Moore and other Saints personnel flew to Athens, Ga., where they had dinner with several Georgia Bulldogs prospects -- most notably outside linebacker/defensive end Mykel Williams.
They weren't finished. On Thursday, March 27, Moore and his retinue took a quick flight from Athens to Knoxville, where they met up privately with a group of Tennessee Volunteers; among them were defensive tackles Omarr Norman-Lott and Elijah Simmons, and star running back Dylan Sampson. It's tough to look at this and not compare it to Sean Payton's famous campus visit with Alvin Kamara in Knoxville all those years ago.
Where will the Saints go next? Penn State and Ole Miss will hold their pro days on Friday, then the circuit quiets down significantly, with Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter working out with their teammates in front of NFL scouts next Friday, April 4. Benson is expected to be in Palm Beach, Fla. for the annual spring owners meetings from March 30-April 2, so we'll see how that impacts Moore's travel schedule.
Either way, it says a lot that Benson was willing to foot the bill for Moore and other Saints decision-makers to fly around the country visiting with draft prospects at pro days, invite-only dinners, and private workouts. We'll see if it makes a difference, and it's unclear just how different this approach has been from what Dennis Allen and Sean Payton experienced as head coach. But to this point Benson has made good on her word to support Moore's endeavors. There are some owners around the league who pinch their pennies a little tighter.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Tracking New Orleans Saints pro day visits, 2025 NFL draft meetings
Continue reading...
