Scott Tolzien (pronounced Toll-ZEEN) enters his second season as quarterbacks coach for the Saints in 2026.
Working with New Orleans' quarterbacks in 2025, Tolzien was instrumental in Tyler Shough's development. In his rookie campaign, Shough completed 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards (10 TDs & 6 INT – 91.3 rating) in his nine starts (5-4 as a starter with four consecutive victories). Shough was a consensus All-Rookie selection, breaking all team rookie passing records. Tolzien also played a key role in the development of quarterback Spencer Rattler in his second season, who completed 174-of-257 passes (club-best 67.7 pct.) for 1,586 yards with eight touchdowns, only five interceptions and added 167 rushing yards on 31 carries (5.4 avg.) in eight starts.
Tolzien joined the Saints after spending the previous five years with the Dallas Cowboys, including the last two years as the team's quarterbacks coach and three years as an offensive assistant. After losing starting Dak Prescott to injury midway through the 2024 season, Tolzien integrated Cooper Rush into the starting role, where he finished 4-4, including victories over playoff participants Washington and Tampa Bay, completing 187-of-308 (60.7 pct.) passes for 1,844 yards with 12 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
In Tolzien's first season as quarterbacks coach in 2023, Prescott finished second in MVP voting as he led the NFL in completions (410) and passing touchdowns (36), the only Cowboys quarterback to lead the NFL outright in passing scores, while finishing second in passer rating (105.9) and third in yards (4,516). Prescott also reduced his interception totals from 15 in 2022 to nine in 2023, and his interceptions percentage of 1.5% was ranked fourth among all NFL passers. Perhaps most impressive was Prescott's command of the offense, as he engineered three game-winning drives, a higher total than in any single-season since 2018, when he led five such drives, and now has 23 in his career. He finished with the most 100.0-rating games (11) and multi-passing touchdown games (11) league-wide.
Utilizing experience from a seven-year NFL playing career at quarterback, Tolzien served as an offensive assistant in 2022, his final season in that role before earning a promotion. Working closely with the quarterbacks, he played a key role in preparing Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. After Prescott suffered a thumb injury in Week One, Tolzien helped assemble the offensive game plan for Rush, who went 4–1 in five starts in 2022 and became the first quarterback in franchise history to win his first four career starts. When Prescott returned to action in Week Seven against Detroit (10/23), Dallas' offense led the league in offensive points-per-game (31.3) and third down offense (52.3%) and was third in yards-per-game (384.3) for the rest of the season.
The Cowboys offense grew to new heights in 2021, leading the NFL in scoring (31.2), including a franchise-record 530 points, and yards (407.0) while also reaching the end zone on 28.6% of drives, sixth in the league. Tolzien's close work with Prescott saw the quarterback set a career-high and franchise-record 37 touchdowns passes and record a 100.0 passer rating in eight games, tied for second in single-season team history.
In his first season with Dallas in 2020, Tolzien assisted with an offensive unit that ranked in the top-10 of most primary statistical categories. Despite losing Prescott to injury, the Cowboys offense ranked seventh in the NFL in receiving yards (4,511), eighth in net passing yards (4,161) and tied for ninth in scrimmage yards (6,299).
Before becoming an NFL coach, Tolzien was given a brief introduction to off-field tasks in 2019 at his alma mater, Wisconsin, where he scouted opponents as an analyst. The Badgers finished the season with a 10-4 record, including a Big Ten Championship Game appearance and Rose Bowl berth.
Tolzien enjoyed a seven-year NFL career, originally signing with the San Diego Chargers as a rookie free agent in 2011. Following his first two campaigns with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-12), which included two trips to the NFC Championship Game, he spent three seasons as a backup to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay (2013-15), playing in six games with two starts. In 2013, starting in relief for Rodgers, Tolzien threw for 717 yards, the fourth-most in NFL history for a quarterback in his first two career games. He spent the final two seasons of his playing career with the Indianapolis Colts, where he appeared in four games with two starts (2016-17).
Tolzien appeared in 29 games with 26 starts at Wisconsin (2006-10), leaving with the school record for completion percentage (68.1) and efficiency rating (153.2). In his final season in 2010, he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top upperclassman quarterback.
Tolzien starred at William Fremd High School in Palatine, Ill., where he set 15 school passing records and was an All-State and All-Academic selection as a senior. He also earned two-time all-conference, academic all-conference honors, and Chicago Sun-Times "Top 100" honors.
He and his wife, Megan, have a son, Blake, and two daughters, Brooke and Caroline.
PLAYING CAREER: Wisconsin, 2006-10; San Francisco 49ers, 2011-12; Green Bay Packers, 2013-15; Indianapolis Colts, 2016-17.
COACHING CAREER: Dallas Cowboys, 2020-24; New Orleans Saints, 2025-.
