As the program continues to shock and surprise as a force in the SEC, Missouri Tigers OC Kirby Moore is beginning to garner national attention as a potential hot ticket in the next coaching cycle. The Moore name has a rich heritage in college football, but is the Missouri OC the brother of Boise State Kellen Moore?
Is Kirby Moore the Brother of Kellen Moore?
Kirby is the younger brother of former Boise-State-Broncos-legend-turned-NFL-offensive-coordinator Kellen. The two Moore brothers are the sons of long-time Prosser High School HC Tom Moore, a renowned coach who won 21 league titles and four state championships between 1986 and 2008.
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Both brothers earned state accolades at the high school level, with Kellen being named the Gatorade Player of the Year. He also set multiple state passing records as a talented quarterback.
The younger brother, Kirby continued the Moore footballing legacy, albeit at the wide receiver position — earning Washington 2A Player of the Year in his senior season.
Both brothers’ journey to coaching went via a playing career at Boise State. While Kellen set program records and earned national recognition as one of the best players in the nation, Kirby had a playing career less in the limelight and was somewhat impacted by injury. Still, he tallied 115 career receptions for 1,137 yards and six touchdowns while playing in 45 games.
As Kellen was establishing himself as one of the most intelligent backup quarterbacks in the NFL, Kirby went straight into college coaching following his playing career at Boise State.
Starting at the College of Idaho as a WR coach, he soon earned a graduate assistant spot on the Washington Huskies coaching staff the same year the team reached the College Football Playoff.
By 2018, both Moore brothers were firmly embedded in the coaching ranks. Kellen became the Dallas Cowboys’ QB coach in 2018 — one year after Kirby had established himself as the WR coach at Fresno State. The elder brother was promoted to offensive coordinator with the Cowboys in 2019, and Kirby earned his first OC role with the Bulldogs in 2022.
While the brothers have taken different routes with new destinations for the 2023 football season, their journeys have remained intertwined. The family heritage that began at Prosser High School under their father, has informed their direction, and helped establish a foundation of knowledge. The brothers are forever learning from each other.
“That stuff’s invaluable,” Kirby told The Sun of the family connection. “That’s our family, football, that goes without saying. Dad and his coaching experience, and then Kellen and where he’s at now. Very fortunate that they actually start their training camp in Oxnard, so a lot of times I’ll go down there for three, five days, maybe a week – depending on when we start.”
“And it kind of gets my feet wet, gets my brain processed in some different things, maybe pick up a drill. Just around obviously the elite of the elite in the NFL. Talking to Kellen about football all the time is awesome, and being able to pick his brain about different things and things they’re doing and how he thinks it would work in a college game.”
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Any advice that he’s taken from Kellen, is clearly working for Kirby. After leading Fresno State to a Mountain West Championship in 2022, he attracted the attention of Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz who made him the Tigers’ offensive coordinator for the 2023 college football season.
Moore’s appointment has seen a dramatic turnaround of the offensive fortunes for a team that ranked 86th for scoring offense one year ago on the way to a 6-7 record. Missouri is set for its best season since 2018 behind a top-50 offense in the nation. That success could see Kirby garner the same level of national attention that his brother Kellen has received for years.