Kellen Moore addresses Saints' energy, focus amid uncertain future

A recent report suggested that first-year New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore may need to notch a few wins to hold onto his job through the upcoming offseason. 

Moore's players responded by earning a 24-20 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) that improved New Orleans to 3-10 on Sunday. Following that result, Moore spoke with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about the Saints refusing to punt on the remainder of the campaign even though they've already been eliminated from playoff contention. 

Are Saints heading in right direction despite record?

"Credit to our players," Moore told Breer. "I think it says a lot about the veterans, the leadership of those guys, because to me, your young guys, they don’t know any better. They’re excited about the opportunity, but with these vets...these older guys who’ve been in this league for a number of years, to see these guys battling each and every week, we’re preparing the right way, so credit to those guys. The energy is right. The focus is where it needs to be."

After New Orleans entered its Week 11 bye at 2-8, Saints owner Gayle Benson backed both Moore and general manager Mickey Loomis in an interview. However, New Orleans then suffered a Week 12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons (4-9) and a Week 13 defeat at the Miami Dolphins (6-7).

Will Tyler Shough keep Kellen Moore safe through offseason?

Days after the Dolphins-Saints game, Breer shared that he didn't "know if Moore is completely out of the woods yet." Breer added in that piece that Moore may "need to get good play from rookie quarterback Tyler Shough" through Week 18 to stay with the Saints. 

Against the Buccaneers, Shough completed 13-of-20 passes for 144 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 55 yards and two scores. 

"Every single practice, every single week, I feel my confidence growing more and more," Shough said shortly after he improved to 2-3 as a starter, per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. 

Shough will look to build upon his latest win when the Saints host the Carolina Panthers (7-6) on Dec. 14. As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had New Orleans as a 2.5-point underdog for that game.