Doug Nussmeier is in his first season as the Saints' offensive coordinator and tenth season as a coach in the National Football League.
A 24-year coaching veteran, Nussmeier returns to New Orleans after originally being a fourth round pick (116th overall) of the Saints in the 1994 NFL Draft out of Idaho, for who he played four seasons. He joins the Saints after spending the 2024 season as quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2024, Nussmeier was a key piece of the Eagles Super Bowl LIX Champion offensive coaching staff. With Philadelphia ranked eighth overall in the NFL in net yards per game (367.2) and seventh in points per game (27.2), Jalen Hurts flourished under Nussmeier's tutelage, posting a career-high 103.7 passer rating, fifth in the league. Hurts also ranked among the top eight in the league in yards per attempt (fourth, 8.0), completion percentage (eighth, career-high 68.7) and total touchdowns (eighth, 32). In addition, Hurts tied for the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (14) in the league (first among quarterbacks).
In the postseason, Hurts completed 65-of-91 (71.4 pct.) for 726 yards with five touchdown passes, only one interception and a 108.6 passer rating. On the ground, he carried 34 times for 194 yards with five touchdowns. His five postseason rushing touchdowns tied his own NFL playoffs record for quarterbacks, which he already owned from the Eagles' run to Super Bowl LVII., and his 194 rushing yards were the fourth-highest postseason total in NFL record books by a signal-caller. In Philadelphia's 40-22 Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Hurts was voted the game's MVP, after completing 17-of-22 (77.3 pct.) attempts for 221 yards, two touchdowns, a 119.7 passer rating and 72 rushing yards with one touchdown, the most rushing yards by a quarterback ever in a Super Bowl.
In 2023, Nussmeier served as the Los Angeles Chargers' quarterbacks coach. Under his direction, Justin Herbert completed 295-of-517 (65.1 pct.) attempts for 3,134 yards, 20 touchdowns, only seven interceptions and a 93.2 passer rating in 13 contests before suffering a broken finger.
Prior to his stint with the Chargers, Nussmeier spent five seasons as a member of the Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff, working as the quarterbacks coach (2020-22) and tight ends coach (2018-19). From 2020-22, Dallas produced the fourth-most total yards per game in the league despite requiring five different starting quarterbacks in that span.
During the 2022 campaign, Nussmeier's quarterback room battled through adversity to help the team finish 12-5 with a postseason appearance. Dak Prescott returned from injury midseason and ranked among the NFL's top passers down the stretch, as his 20 passing scores from Week Ten until the end of the regular season were tied for the most in the league. Nussmeier's development of the entire quarterbacks room was critical early in the season, as Cooper Rush guided the team to a 4-1 record in five starts.
In 2021, Nussmeier mentored a group of quarterbacks that helped Dallas rank among the top offensive units in the NFL, as the Cowboys finished first in total offense (407.0 ypg.) and points per game (31.2). Prescott registered the third-highest passer rating (104.2) in the league while throwing for a franchise-record 37 touchdowns.
Prescott averaged 371.2 passing yards per game through the first five contests of 2020, before enduring an ankle injury that ended his season prematurely.
As tight ends coach in Dallas, Nussmeier helped Jason Witten post his 14th and 15th career seasons with 60-plus catches while also tutoring Blake Jarwin, who caught 58 passes and six touchdowns from 2018-19.
Nussmeier joined the Cowboys in 2018 after spending 13 of the previous 15 seasons coaching at the collegiate level, including ten years as an offensive coordinator. In those 13 seasons, Nussmeier tutored eight different players who were selected in the first or second round of the NFL Draft.
Before going to Dallas, Nussmeier served as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Florida (2015-17), Michigan (2014) and Alabama (2012-13). In his first season with the Crimson Tide, Nussmeier guided A.J. McCarron to a then-school-best 30 passing touchdowns, including four in Alabama's victory over Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. He also coached McCarron to throw for 3,063 yards in 2013, which marked the most in single-season program history at the time.
Nussmeier also was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Washington (2009-11). In his final season with the Huskies, the offense recorded 57 touchdowns and 431 points scored, both good for the second-most in a single season in school history. Nussmeier's first coordinator position came in 2008, directing the offense and coaching quarterbacks at Fresno State University.
In 2006, Nussmeier landed his first NFL coaching job with St. Louis, coaching quarterbacks for the Rams for two seasons. He helped Marc Bulger earn his second Pro Bowl selection after passing for a career-best 4,301 yards with 24 touchdowns. Prior to his time in St. Louis, Nussmeier coached the quarterbacks at Michigan State for three seasons (2003-05), capping his tenure by helping Drew Stanton throw for a then-school-record 3,415 passing yards in 2005.
Nussmeier first broke into coaching in the CFL, landing his first job in 2001 as the quarterbacks coach of his former team, the British Columbia Lions. After one season on the Lions' staff, he went on to spend the 2002 campaign as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach of the Ottawa Renegades.
After being selected by New Orleans in 1994, Nussmeier spent four seasons with the Saints and the 1998 campaign with the Indianapolis Colts, before heading to the CFL in 2000, helping the BC Lions to the Grey Cup Championship. Nussmeier appeared in five games, including two starts, over his NFL career, all with New Orleans, throwing for 455 yards and a touchdown on 46-of-82 passing.
Nussmeier finished his career at the University of Idaho as the program's all-time leading passer with 10,824 career passing yards over five years (1989-93). He won the Walter Payton Award in 1993, which was at the time given annually to the top player in NCAA Division 1-AA after throwing for a program-record 33 touchdown passes and leading the Vandals to a national semifinal berth. Nussmeier was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1992 and inducted into the University of Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
A Portland, Ore. native, Nussmeier and his wife, Christi, have two sons, Garrett and Colton, and a daughter Ashlynn. Garrett will be entering his fifth season as a quarterback at LSU in 2025.
PLAYING CAREER: Idaho, 1989-93; New Orleans Saints, 1994-97; Indianapolis Colts, 1998; British Columbia Lions (CFL), 2000.
COACHING CAREER: British Columbia Lions (CFL), 2001; Ottawa Renegades (CFL), 2002; Michigan State, 2003-05; St. Louis Rams, 2006-07; Fresno State, 2008; University of Washington, 2009-11; Alabama, 2012-13; Michigan, 2014; Florida, 2015-17; Dallas Cowboys, 2018-22, Los Angeles Chargers, 2023; Philadelphia Eagles, 2024; New Orleans Saints, 2025-.
