Tom Moore (born November 7, 1938) is a football coach, currently working as an offensive consultant for the
NFL's New York Jets.
[h=2][
edit] Early life[/h]Moore learned football at an early age in
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He played quarterback at the
University of Iowa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. Moore coached at Iowa after graduation and then joined the Army for two years, when he also coached football overseas.
[h=2][
edit] Coaching career[/h]Moore resumed his college coaching career at the
University of Dayton, where he coached offensive backs and received a graduate degree in guidance counseling. When he left Dayton in 1968, Moore went on to coach offense for nine years at
Wake Forest,
Georgia Tech,
Minnesota, and at WFL's
New York Stars.
Moore made the transition to the majors in 1977 when he joined
Chuck Noll's coaching staff at the
Pittsburgh Steelers, initially serving as receivers coach. Within three years on the Steelers, Moore earned two Super Bowl rings and in 1983 he was promoted to quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. For eight years, Moore and
Tony Dungy, the Colts' head coach from 2002 to 2009, were colleagues on Noll's coaching staff at Pittsburgh.
Leaving the Steelers in 1990, Moore served in senior offensive coaching roles for three teams in eight years, having the most success as offensive coordinator for the
Detroit Lions, the team which led the NFL in total offense in 1995 and was the first team in NFL history to have two receivers with over 100 catches in a season (
Herman Moore and
Brett Perriman).
On July 21, 2011, it was announced that Moore would take a job with the New York Jets as an offensive consultant, working from home.
[h=2][
edit] Indianapolis Colts[/h]The
Indianapolis Colts, for whom Moore served as an offensive coordinator since 1998, won Super Bowl XLI in February 2007. Moore coached the offense under head coaches
Jim Mora, Dungy and Jim Caldwell. He oversaw the development of quarterback
Peyton Manning for Manning's entire career. Manning started every single game for the Colts over that time period, going 117-59 in the regular season and 9-9 in the playoffs, also setting numerous NFL records, including highest passer rating, season (121.1 in
2004) and for most passing touchdowns in a season with 49, also in 2004 (since surpassed by Tom Brady, 50 touchdowns in
2007).
On May 6, 2009,
ESPN reported that Moore was planning to retire due to a change in the NFL's pension program which affected both him and the Colts' offensive line coach,
Howard Mudd. Larry Kennan, the executive director of the NFL Coaches' Association, said Moore had not yet filed his retirement papers but believed that he was "just about there."[SUP]
[1][/SUP] On May 20, 2009, Moore returned to the Colts to serve as their senior offensive coordinator, though he ultimately left the organization following the 2010 season.