Two of the NFL’s hottest coaching names meet Sunday in New Orleans, where Klint Kubiak’s Raiders and Kellen Moore’s Saints will square off at Caesars Superdome with early-season momentum on the line.
The matchup brings together the league’s current Coach of the Year favorites, with Moore sitting atop the board at 5-1 at Caesars Sportsbook and Kubiak right behind him at 9-1. Former Saints coach Sean Payton is tied as the 25th choice at 60-1 for Denver.
Both coaches have their teams off to surprising starts. Las Vegas is 2-0 and tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for first in the AFC West after a 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins and a 26-14 upset of the Los Angeles Chargers. New Orleans is 1-1 and tied with Carolina in the NFC South after opening with a 31-30 overtime loss in Detroit and following it with a 24-17 road win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Caesars has the Saints as a 3½-point favorite for the 3:25 p.m. kickoff, the first time New Orleans has been favored before a game this early in the season.
The coaching connection runs deeper than the odds board. Kubiak, 39, spent the 2024 season as the Saints’ offensive coordinator under Dennis Allen before leaving for Seattle last season, where he won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks and turned that into his first head-coaching job with the Raiders. Moore, 38, won his Super Bowl ring as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2024-25 before landing in New Orleans after a 6-11 first year for the Saints.
“I’ve always loved what Klint’s done,” Moore said, referring to Kubiak’s offensive schemes. “He’s always done a really good job, from a run game and action game perspective, and giving the quarterback a chance to be successful.”
Kubiak has done plenty to keep Las Vegas rolling, and he’s doing it with 38-year-old Kirk Cousins at quarterback while Pro Bowl tight end Blake Bowers has been out for the first two games after minor knee surgery. Moore had praise for Cousins, too, saying “it’s really cool to see what he’s doing.” The two were on the same Senior Bowl roster when Moore was a quarterback coming out of Boise State.
On the New Orleans side, second-year quarterback Tyler Shough has fueled the early buzz. He leads the NFL in completions with 62 and passing yards with 662 through Week 3. His top target, Chris Olave, is second in the league in both receptions with 18 and receiving yards with 268.
Kubiak said this week that the Saints are “a hot team.”
“They’re playing really good football,” Kubiak said earlier this week in Las Vegas. “Playing in their place, very loud environment, it will be a great challenge for our team.”
The Saints ruled out rookies Barion Brown, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, and Christen Miller, who has a toe issue. The Raiders listed Bowers as questionable and backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell as out because of bereavement leave.
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