Mizzou and Alabama's Offenses Fueled by Two Former Co-workers in DeBoer and Moore

The Missouri Tigers offensive coordinator will try to outscore his former boss Saturday in Alabama.

Missouri Tigers offensive coordinator Kirby Moore (left) and Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer (right) / Denny Medley-Imagn Images (left), Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK (right)

On the surface, there’s no easy explanation for Kirby Moore nor Kalen DeBoer’s résumés.

Only 10 years before DeBoer led Washington to the National Championship as head coach, he was the offensive coordinator in the Missouri Valley Conference with Southern Illinois Carbondale.

In DeBoer’s final season with Carbondale in 2013, Moore was wrapping up his playing career as a wide receiver at Boise State. He worked in medical sales for a few months before having to scratch the coaching itch, accepting a job as Idaho’s wide receivers coach for the 2014 season.

Now, DeBoer is the head coach for one of the most iconic programs in college football and Moore is in his second season as the offensive coordinator for Missouri. After coaching together for four seasons at Fresno State, Saturday will place the two former coworkers on opposite sidelines.

"He's done a really good job leading the offense there (Missouri) and continuing to evolve it, " DeBoer said of Moore on a teleconference Wednesday. "There's certainly a lot of familiar things that I see on the film."

Jeff Tedford was hired as Fresno State's head coach ahead of the 2017 season after spending 2016 as an offensive consultant with Washington. He brought along a promising graduate assistant from Washington to be his wide receivers coach in Moore. He also sought after a rising offensive mind in DeBoer to be his offensive coordinator.

Nov 25, 2017; Fresno, CA, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Tedford (right) and wide receivers coach Kirby Moore (left) talks to his team during a timeout against the Boise State Broncos in the second quarter at Bulldog Stadium. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

At Fresno State, the aptitude of the offensive coaching duo of Moore and DeBoer was apparent to all around them.

“It's no surprise to me that those guys are where they are,” Brad Vonnahme, an offensive analyst for Fresno State from 2016 to '19 said of the two coaches.

Vonnahme saw first hand what made Moore and DeBoer different from the rest. The résumés of both are rare because their attention to detail and obsession with the details are even rarer. 

“They are relentless in pursuing the answers and how to do things the best way possible,” Vonnahme said. “I really think that that's what's allowed them to stay on the cutting edge of offense because they just never stop studying, learning.”

Moore was only four years removed from his playing days when he accepted the job at Fresno State. It was his first full time coaching job. When he wasn't evaluating tape, he was analyzing the job he was doing as a coach.

"He definitely takes accountability," Frank Dalena, a Fresno State wide receiver from 2015 to 2019 said of Moore. "He's the guy to tell the truth Sundays after the game. ... Each of my years, he continued to grow in his craft and talk to me about how he wanted to get better as a coach."

Moore knew when to turn 'it' on and when to let his guard down among his players. He understood the exciting moments for players — choosing jersey numbers, receiving Nike gear giveaways — that some older coaches might've found fatuous. He would have the wide receivers over at his house to watch "Thursday Night Football" and chow down a tray of chicken wings.

"As a young 18 to 22 year old, you wanna have people in charge of you that are good influences," Dalena said. "As much as there's 'X's and O's' in football, you're with these guys so much to where you wanna be able to relate to them."

Moore knew what his players wanted in a coach. He also know what they needed to hear.

Ahead of a day of meetings and practices, he'd play a motivational video from your typical 'rah-rah' speakers — Eric Thomas, David Goggins, Inky Johnson.

One of Moore's favorites was a clip from a Thomas speech with the message "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." Identifying the chase of success as something that has to be a need, not just a desire or craving.

The point was to motivate his young players. But Moore likely resonated with the message just as much. There was always some detail he could find for his players to improve on or a better way to teach it.

"'We've got our playbook, but but what can I find from the NFL?,'" Vonnahme said of what Moore would look for. "'What can I find from other top offenses, a little wrinkle?'"

Moore was a sponge, in between a living legend in Tedford and a rising star in DeBoer.

But DeBoer was a sponge too. Not only to Tedford, but to his assistants in Moore, Ryan Grubb (now the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks), or analysts like Vonnahme.

"I truly felt like he listened to my input, was not afraid to utilize it," Vonnahme said of DeBoer. "Kind of a unique personality, especially in college football where there are a lot of big egos."

When Tedford's staff took over at Fresno State in 2017, the task at hand was a daunting one. In 2016, Fresno State finished 1-11, the worst record in school history. Most of the roster remained intact.

There was no transfer portal to pull from. Tedford, DeBoer and Moore had to play Brad Pitt in "Moneyball" and find a way to win with the roster they had.

DeBoer had proved in his first two decades of coaching before joining of Fresno State though he could do exactly that. As Sioux Falls' head coach from 2005 to '09. he compiled a 67-3 record, making the NAIA Championship in four of the five seasons, winning three.

"He could win with any offense and any quarterback," Dalena said of DeBoer. "He doesn't need a Heisman Trophy quarterback to win."

DeBoer had enough to worry about with turning around the Fresno State offense, which finished last in the conference in both yards per game (329.3) and points per game (17.7). He didn't have the time to worry about inspiring a change in culture, nor did he need to. Fresno State already had tradition and a loyal fanbase.

"He didn't come in wanting to change the culture. He didn't come in wanting to repaint the walls or anything like that. He was here to win football games, and the guy knows how to win football games."

- Frank Dalena

He would do it with a blend of different systems and coaching styles. His willingness to take in input from all areas made for a mosaic of different concepts. The staff was bridging two different eras of offensive football together.

"We really started from scratch," Vonnahme said of the offensive staff. "Kalen's system was kind of the basis, but Tedford had his input, Kirby brought things from Washington that he had done with Chris Peterson and Jonathan Smith. Tedford had been there (Washington) so his fingerprints were on it."

DeBoer and Grubb had been working on their offense for years together before arriving at Fresno. Moore had played for Chris Petersen for four years at Boise State before learning under him at Washington. Tedford's spread offense had been successful for decades, being named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004 with California.

"We kinda became this blend of three, four different systems," Vonnahme said. "It worked."

The staff's teaching style was similar enough to work. The play calls might've been wordy, but they made each player's assignment clear.

Both of Moore's parents were educators and he viewed coaching as a similar craft. He relied on positive reinforcement so his players knew the right thing to do just as much what not to do.

DeBoer would always explain the 'why' behind his thought process to players.

"I feel like some coaches just go out there and call plays because that's the logical thing to do," Dalena said. "But they don't really tell you why. Coach DeBoer would always tell you why."

Even for a staff that have much connection when they took over, they fit together like a puzzle.

"I felt like they always clicked, even though they had never worked together prior," Vonnahme said. "There were a couple of guys that had played at Fresno when Tedford had coached there prior years back in the '90s. But this was not a staff that was like tight and had been together."

In the first year under the new staff, Fresno State turned a team that went 1-11 in 2016 to a 10-4. top 25 team that lost to Boise State by three in the Mountain West title game. The offense made slow but sure progress over time, going from the bottom of conference rankings the year before to No. 8 in points per game and No. 9 in yards per game.

The season was a turnaround for Fresno State. But Moore and DeBoer made sure the team was left unsatisfied.

"If there's one thing that I would bet any amount of money on with Kalen and Kirby is, they will never ever be complacent under any circumstances," Vonnahme said. "They recognize that that's the first way you fall off."

The mindset clicked with the players. The next year, Fresno State improved again to a 12-2 record and defeated Boise State in the conference title game. The offense jumped near the top of the conference, ranking fourth in yards per game and third in points per game.

The winning season opened up new opportunities for DeBoer, who accepted a job as Indiana's offensive coordinator. He would return in 2020 to take over as Fresno State's head coach, keeping Moore on staff and promoting him to passing game coordinator on top of his wide receiver coach duties.

Before accepting the job at Fresno State, DeBoer only had three years of experience with even a Group of Five team, coordinating Eastern Michigan's offense from 2013 to '16. It served as a stepping stone for him to become the respected offensive mind he is today.

"A lot of things that we really did during those times that I think were solid," DeBoer said reflecting on his time at Fresno. "As far as how we put a team together, solid with execution of schemes."

Sep 11, 2021; Fresno, California, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs head coach Kalen Deboer looks on from the sideline against the Cal Poly Mustangs in the third quarter at Bulldog Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Moore stuck around with Fresno State for 2022 after DeBoer accepted the head job in Washington. Moore was promoted to offensive coordinator. The results spoke for themselves, with Fresno State leading the conference in both yards and points per game. It only took one year as coordinator for him to be handed the keys to a SEC offense.

Seven years removed from being hired for their greatest opportunity of their careers at that point, the two former coworkers ironically are dealing with similar challenges.

DeBoer, as he did at Fresno State, doesn't have a culture to turn around or history to establish.

In Missouri, Moore has a team needing to avoid complacency. His offense led the charge on a turnaround 11-2 season in 2023. But as he drilled into his players at Fresno State after 2017, the job is not finished.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's been the same lack of ego, fear of complacency and obsession with their craft that has led both Moore and DeBoer to the opposing sidelines they'll take in Week 9.