Kellen Moore's Collegiate Legacy: A Quarterback Legend
Kellen Christopher Moore, born on July 5, 1988, in Prosser, Washington, is an American professional football coach and former quarterback. Currently serving as the head coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL), Moore's journey in football began long before his NFL career. His father, Tom, was the head coach at Prosser High School from 1986 to 2008, securing 21 league titles and four state championships. This environment deeply influenced Kellen and his younger brother, Kirby, who also played at Boise State and is now the head coach at Washington State.
Early Life and High School Career
Growing up in a football-centric family, Kellen developed a passion for the sport early on. He and Kirby would accompany their father to football practice, Kellen always with a notepad in hand. Despite not growing much after his sophomore year of high school, reaching a height of 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), Moore's lack of height proved no obstacle to success at Prosser High. Moore was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Washington.
Moore lettered in football and basketball three times each and was named Velocity/Prep Star All-American and First-team All-state and Division 2A MVP by the Seattle Times. Moore earned league player of the year honors as well as First-team All-league recognition as a sophomore, junior and senior. Moore finished his career completing 787 of 1,195 passes (.659) for 11,367 yards and 173 touchdowns with 34 interceptions. He led Prosser to a 12-1 record in 2006 as a senior and a spot in the state semifinals, where his team lost to the Centralia Tigers and Moore threw two interceptions. As a junior, he completed 317 of 479 passes (66.2 percent) for 4,600 yards and 66 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.
Boise State Broncos: A Collegiate Dynasty
Moore's collegiate career at Boise State is the stuff of legend. From 2008 to 2011, he orchestrated one of the most successful runs in college football history, setting the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record for quarterback wins. His teammates at Boise State included his younger brother Kirby and childhood friend Cory Yriarte, a center for the Broncos.
2008: Freshman Sensation
As a redshirt freshman in 2008, Moore led the Broncos to an undefeated regular season and the WAC championship while throwing 25 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 12 games. Moore did not start the regular season finale against Fresno State, as senior backup quarterback Bush Hamdan was given the ceremonial Senior day start and took the opening series; Moore entered the game immediately thereafter, played the majority of the contest, and was later removed during the 61-10 victory. This marked the only game of Moore’s collegiate career in which he did not start. In the final game of 2008, Boise State lost to Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, the first of two consecutive bowl meetings for the non-Automatic Qualifying rivals. He was named WAC Freshman of the Year and Second-team All-conference after a spectacular first season, guiding Boise State to 12-1 record and was named Boise State's Most Valuable Offensive Player by vote of teammates. He ranked 12th in nation in passing efficiency and 24th in total offense, averaging 265.85 yards per game and was first in WAC in passing efficiency (157.1) and second in total offense (265.8) and average passing yards per game (268.2).
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2009: Continued Dominance
Moore threw for a school record 39 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions to lead the Broncos to a 14-0 record, another WAC title, and an at large bid to the Fiesta Bowl vs. undefeated #4 ranked TCU. The 2009 Fiesta Bowl was highly controversial due to the decision to pit the two non-Automatic Qualifying schools against each other instead of having them face Automatic Qualifying teams. The BCS was criticized for the perception that the risk of both, or either, team defeating a "power conference" team was too great, and that the BCS had TCU and BSU face each other so that the damage of their participation would be minimized. He finished the 2009 regular season with the highest passer efficiency rating in Division I-A with a rating of 167.3. Moore started against widely favored TCU in the Fiesta Bowl and played the entire game. He had no interceptions, fumbles, or muffed snaps. He was named First-team All-American by CBSSportsline.com, a subsidiary of CBS Sports.
2010: National Recognition
Moore led the Broncos to a 33-30 victory over Virginia Tech on September 6, 2010. The game was highly anticipated and received a 6.8 TV rating, nearly twice that of the next most watched game. Moore contributed 3 passing touchdowns in the game with a final game-winning strike to Austin Pettis with 1:14 remaining in the game. As a result of the victory, Boise State received 8 first place votes in the week 2 AP Poll, and it moved up to third in the Coaches' Poll. Moore was also mentioned by major sports media as a top candidate for the 2010 Heisman Trophy. After finishing the season with 3,506 yards, 33 touchdowns, five interceptions, and an NCAA-leading passer rating of 182.6, Moore was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and was invited to the ceremony in New York City to become the first ever Boise State player to be a Heisman finalist. Moore finished fourth in Heisman voting. Moore was also a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Manning Award (all won by Cam Newton).
2011: Record-Breaking Season
On March 28, 2011, the Sporting News named Moore as the #1 player in their annual list of the top 25 players in the nation. He was ranked ahead of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Oregon running back LaMichael James who both finished ahead of Moore in the 2010 Heisman voting. He only needed 8 wins during the 2011 season to pass Colt McCoy for most wins by a quarterback in NCAA history. He threw his 100th touchdown pass against Georgia during week one. With the Broncos defeat of Air Force on October 22, he tied former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy for the career wins record with 45 wins. On November 5, the Broncos defeated UNLV and Moore broke the record to become the FBS leader in career wins for a starting quarterback at 46. Moore finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. He became the 15th player in Heisman Trophy voting history to finish in the top ten three times. He was one of three finalists for the Maxwell Award along with Andrew Luck and Trent Richardson (won by Luck). For the second year in a row, he was named the Touchdown Club of Columbus Quarterback of the Year and it was announced that beginning in 2012 the award will be known as the Kellen Moore Award.
NFL Career
Despite his success in college, many analysts doubted Moore's professional potential, especially his relatively small stature at, according to his Boise State Pro Day, slightly shorter than 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), as well as doubts about arm strength and mobility. On February 21, 2014, it was announced the Lions would not place a restricted free agent tender offer on Moore, allowing him to explore other NFL options. On September 6, 2015, Moore was signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad, reuniting with former Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. After Tony Romo first fractured his left collarbone, he was promoted to the active roster to serve as Brandon Weeden's backup on September 23. Moore was the team's backup for two games, until the Cowboys acquired quarterback Matt Cassel. On December 19, Moore played in his first career regular season game against the New York Jets, replacing an ineffective Cassel. The loss against the Jets officially eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention, which led the organization to decide to use the last two regular season games to audition Moore.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Moore transitioned into coaching. He served as the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, winning Super Bowl LIX. On February 11, 2025, Moore was hired as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Read also: More on Shakeel Moore
Snubbed by the Hall of Fame
Kellen Moore, the beloved former Boise State quarterback, is up for the Hall of Fame once again. What's the hold up!? In four years, Kellen Moore has been nominated for the College Football Hall of Fame FOUR times. Yet somehow, the winningest quarterback in college football history still hasn't been inducted. For the past three years--and now this being four--the news has been shared that Kellen was among those nominated to make the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Over 70 athletes were named nominees alongside Kellen each year.
Kellen's success was no joke while he was a collegiate athlete. It's simple to see why Moore should be in. In four years at Boise State, his record as starting quarterback was 50-3. He ranks second in all time passing touchdowns in all of college football, third in passing efficiency, and fifth in career passing yardage. Over 12,000 National Football Foundation members voted and with results announced today, Moore was TOTALLY snubbed. Again. Fans thought that the third time might be the charm! While many inductees played in the 1990's, very big and successful names from recent history made the list such as Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss. A total of 19 players and 3 coaches made the cut. Since leaving Boise State, his dominance has continued in the coaching ranks-- being one of the great young minds in the NFL, thus far in Dallas, Los Angeles, and now Philadelphia. These accomplishments post-college aren't taken into consideration of course--but come on, voters!
Legacy
Kellen Moore's 50 career victories as the starting quarterback at Boise State University remain the most by any QB in NCAA football history. Moore, who was touted as one of the most brilliant minds in college football has now taken those brains to the NFL where Dallas fans can't get enough of him. Kellen Moore, Boise State-Quarterback-2010 First Team All-American finished career as the winningest starting QB (.943) in college football history…Set the NCAA record for lowest career INT percentage (.017) and tied NCAA record with four 3,000-yard passing seasons…Boise State's all-time leading passer (14,667) earned three conference Player of the Year honors (2-WAC, 1-MWC). Let's not forget that the Broncos were 50-3 while Mr. Moore was the starting quarterback for Boise State. Most experts believe that his win mark will not be broken for sometime in ever. It's very rare for quarterbacks to stay four years or for a team to only lose three games in four years.
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