Missouri OC Kirby Moore reportedly interviews for Arkansas head coaching position
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kirby Moore reportedly interviewed for Arkansas job, signaling rising head‑coach interest.
- Missouri ranks No.4 in total yards and has raced to a 5-0 start in 2025.
- Missouri faces retention challenge; losing Moore would force a new play‑caller.
With Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore’s contract set to expire after the 2025 season, the Tigers are already seeing the potential of his departure.
Moore interviewed for the head-coaching position at Arkansas on Sunday in a video call, per a report from On3’s Riley McFerran. Regardless of how far he gets in the hiring process, it signals that he could get further opportunities to be a head coach in the coming months.
Following a 2-3 start to the season that included a 53-6 loss to Notre Dame, Arkansas fired sixth-year coach Sam Pittman on Sept. 28. It named offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino as the interim coach but is undergoing a national search for the 2026 season.
Moore is one of the first to take a call from the Razorbacks. This isn’t new territory for the third-year coordinator; he has received offers in the past, and a transition to the NFL was even rumored before the season once his brother, Kellen Moore, took the head-coaching job with the New Orleans Saints.
“I’d love to work with him one day,” Kellen said of Kirby in an introductory news conference Feb. 13. “Obviously, he’s in a tremendous spot, a tremendous role. They’ve had a ton of success at Missouri in the last couple years, so he’ll have great opportunities moving forward.”
That success has expanded in 2025. Mizzou ranks No. 4 in the country in total yards per game (547.6) approaching a Week 7 duel with No. 8 Alabama — along with the third-most rushing yards (1,460) and seventh-most points per game (45.2). That has helped the Tigers race to a 5-0 start.
The strength of Missouri’s offense has put the rest of the country on notice, including Moore’s peers.
“I think Kirb’s one of the best coordinators in the country,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb told local Alabama media in Tuscaloosa on Monday. “I think he does a great job.”
Keeping Moore could be a challenge for the Tigers. If they were to lose him, they would presumably seek another candidate to take play-calling duties, whether it be in-house or from outside. Once coach Eli Drinkwitz delegated that responsibility to Moore, Mizzou soared to back-to-back finishes with double-digit wins.
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