Age matters in the NFL.
A prevailing ideology has ruled the league for decades: Teams are led by older, experienced coaches and young, dynamic players. It's a tradition that has stood the test of time.
In New Orleans, however, a different dynamic is taking place.
At 36, Kellen Moore is the youngest head coach in the NFL and the youngest in Saints franchise history.
His Saints defense will be led by three thirty-something stars, one of whom, Demario Davis, is roughly the same age. Davis, 36, is six months younger than Moore, who will turn 37 on July 5. Cam Jordan, 35, is a year younger, while 33-year-old Tyrann Mathieu is the spring chicken of the bunch.
"It'll be an interesting dynamic with him being the head coach and me being the captain," Davis said. "It'll definitely be different, but I'm really excited about it. He and his staff have already brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the building."
Underscoring this point: Moore and Davis were once teammates. As members of the same NFL draft class, they played on the North team in the 2012 Senior Bowl, where Davis joined Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner in the North's all-star linebacker crew and Moore teamed with future NFL stars Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson to form the quarterback room.
When Davis learned Moore was the frontrunner to become the Saints' new head coach, his initial thoughts turned to those days in Mobile, Alabama, 13 years ago.
"I absolutely thought of the Senior Bowl," Davis said. "It hit me: 'Dang, we're the same age.'"
Davis believes Moore's age will be a strength rather than a weakness. In planning talks with his new head coach about practice schedules, scheme implementation and cultural identity, Davis said he's found common ground in Moore's coaching philosophy.
"We think the same way," Davis said. "The terms he uses. The way he sees the game and how he wants to attack opponents. He's on the cutting edge of the modern NFL."
For his part, Moore has dealt with the age thing for a while now. Few coaches in NFL history have ascended to the head coaching ranks as quickly as he did. He began his career as the Dallas quarterbacks coach at age 29. When he became the offensive coordinator a year later, he was the same age or younger than many of the Cowboys' offensive stars: Jason Witten, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and Tavon Austin.
Moore's transition was facilitated by his close relationships with then-Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and offensive assistant Scott Linehan, who each had experienced similarly rapid ascensions up the coaching ladder.
"I thought (my age) was such a good advantage just because I knew the room, I knew the people at a really high level," Moore said. "Obviously our roles and expectations had to change a little bit. But those guys, you had to kind of earn their respect in a different way."
The first thing Davis noticed about Moore when he met him at the Senior Bowl was his relatively small stature. He was impressed that Moore could produce so many prolific passing numbers despite his slight build and 6-foot height.
"I was this country boy from Mississippi, so this was the first time I had a chance to meet all of these stars that you read about and see on TV," Davis said. "I had heard about (Moore) from afar, passing for all of these yards and breaking all of these records at Boise State, but I had never met him. His stature, as a shorter guy, just made what he accomplished more impressive. It's a testament to his talent and his IQ and his heart."
While Davis and Moore were from disparate parts of the country, they did share a commonality in Mobile: Both were stepping up in class from non-power conference programs. The Senior Bowl was their first chance to see how they compared to players from blue-blood programs in the SEC and Big Ten in daily practices.
"Those are huge opportunities for Demario, coming from Arkansas State, and for me, coming from Boise State," Moore said. "Now, we're in the huddle and we're competing against Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Ohio State. Every single person in that huddle is from there. And so, it's that opportunity for Demario and myself to confirm, hey, I can compete with these guys in whatever capacity that is."
Moore's memories of the 2012 Senior Bowl have been clouded by time. He remembers rooming with South quarterback Nick Foles, whom he trained with that offseason, and interviewing with Jeff Ireland, the Saints director of college scouting who was then the Dolphins general manager. He said he did not interact much with Davis or his defensive teammates but remembers Davis' innate leadership qualities were apparent even back then.
"The thing that always jumps out every time you meet Demario is just the rock-solid person and leader that he is," Moore said. "So when you have a chance to team up with someone like him, you feel like our locker room is going to be going in the right direction."
Life's come full circle for the former Senior Bowl teammates. Now, Davis and Moore are teaming up again in New Orleans.
"Obviously, experience always helps, and you don't know what you don't know," Davis said of Moore. "But I'm loving everything I'm seeing so far from him and his staff. There's a definite energy in the building. I'm excited."
Moore, meanwhile, hopes to surprise his former teammate at a future team meeting. He's commissioned Dave Desposito, the Saints' video director, to search his video archives for footage of those Senior Bowl practices.
"We've got to have it," Moore said. "I'm sure there's a video of me throwing a touchdown pass on him in practice. More likely, though, it will be Demario picking me off."