 Nussmeier with theMichigan Wolverines in 2014 | |||||||||||||||
| New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Offensive coordinator | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1970-12-11)December 11, 1970 (age 54) Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Lakeridge(Lake Oswego, Oregon) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Idaho (1989–1993) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1994: 4th round, 116th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Quarterback, No. 13 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
As a player:
As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||
Douglas Keith Nussmeier (born December 11, 1970) is an American professionalfootball coach and formerquarterback who is theoffensive coordinator for theNew Orleans Saints of theNational Football League (NFL). Nussmeier playedcollege football for theIdaho Vandals football, winning theWalter Payton Award as the most outstanding offensive player inNCAA Division I-AA. He was selected by theNew Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the1994 NFL draft. He finished his playing career with the CFL'sBC Lions. Prior to joining the Saints’ coaching staff, he served as thequarterbacks coach for thePhiladelphia Eagles.
Nussmeier previously served as an assistant coach for theFlorida Gators, theMichigan Wolverines, theAlabama Crimson Tide, theWashington Huskies, theFresno State Bulldogs and theMichigan State Spartans. Nussmeier has also previously served as quarterbacks coach for theSt. Louis Rams, theDallas Cowboys, theOttawa Renegades, and the BC Lions. Nussmeier is the father of quarterbackGarrett Nussmeier.
Born inPortland, Oregon, Nussmeier is a 1989 graduate ofLakeridge High School inLake Oswego, a suburb south of Portland. He did not start at quarterback for the Pacers football team until his senior season.[1]
Though he followedPac-10 quarterbacksErik Wilhelm andJason Palumbis at Lakeridge, the left-handed Nussmeier was not recruited by theconference.[1] He playedcollege football for theIdaho Vandals underJohn L. Smith, and won the1993Walter Payton Award, presented annually to theDivision I-AA player of the year.That year, Nussmeier threw a school-record 33touchdown passes, leading the Vandals to an11–3 record and the nationalsemifinals.[2] A four-year starter at quarterback, Nussmeier succeededJohn Friesz, anotherWalter Payton Award winner in1989, Nussmeier'sredshirt season.
As a fifth-year senior in 1993, Nussmeier had a QB rating of 172.2 - completing 185-of-304 throws (.609) for 2,960 yards and a school-record 33 touchdowns. Nussmeier still ranks among the NCAA I-AA all-time leaders in passing (No. 9 with 10,824 career yards) and total offense (No. 10 at 309.1 yards per game). He is one of only five quarterbacks in NCAA history to throw for at least 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards (1,230), joining Alcorn State'sSteve McNair (1991–94), Central Florida'sDaunte Culpepper (1996–98), Central Michigan'sDan LeFevour (2006–09), and Nevada'sColin Kaepernick (2007–10). Nussmeier set Vandal career records for passing yards, TD passes (91), passing efficiency (175.2), completion percentage (.609, 746–1,225) and total offense (12,054 yards; 308.4 yards per game).
Nussmeier earned hisbachelor's degree in business from theUniversity of Idaho in 1994.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 211 lb (96 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.88 s | 1.65 s | 2.79 s | 4.13 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) |
Nussmeier was selected by theSaints in the fourth round of the1994 NFL draft, 116th overall.[3] He was the fourth quarterback selected, behind first round selectionsHeath Shuler andTrent Dilfer.
Nussmeier was a reservequarterback in theNFL for five seasons in the mid-1990s, spending four years with theNew Orleans Saints (1994–97)[4][5] and one with theIndianapolis Colts (1998). Over his NFL career, he saw playing time in eight regular-season games, throwing for 455 yards, with one touchdown and four interceptions.[6] In 1998, Nussmeier spent part of training camp with theDenver Broncos, but was released prior to the regular season and picked up by the Colts. He is one of only 32left-handed quarterbacks to play in the NFL.
Nussmeier finished his playing career with theBC Lions of theCFL in2000, and stayed with the organization as the quarterbacks coach for 2001.
After coaching the quarterbacks for the BC Lions in2001, he became the quarterbacks coach and de facto offensive coordinator of theOttawa Renegades in2002.
In 2003, Nussmeier was hired as the quarterbacks coach atMichigan State under his college head coach,John L. Smith. He would serve in this role for three seasons (2003-05).[7]
In 2006, Nussmeier was hired by theSt. Louis Rams as their quarterbacks coach under head coachScott Linehan for theSt. Louis Rams for two seasons (2006–07).
Nussmeier was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach atFresno State for a season in2008.
Nussmeier was hired in the same capacity atWashington inSeattle in early2009 under new head coachSteve Sarkisian. His annual salary at UW was just under$300,000.[8]
In January2012, Nussmeier became the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach atAlabama inTuscaloosa under head coachNick Saban,[9][10] replacing outgoing coordinatorJim McElwain, the new head coach atColorado State.[11] Under Nussmeier's guidance in 2012, junior quarterbackA. J. McCarron set the school record for touchdowns in a season with 26.[12] McCarron threw an additional four touchdowns in thenational championship game againstNotre Dame in a42–14 victory,[13] which allowed McCarron to set another school record for career touchdown passes.[14]
In2014, Nussmeier was hired atMichigan inAnn Arbor on January 9, following the firing of offensive coordinatorAl Borges.[15][16][17][18]
Michigan head coachBrady Hoke was fired after that season on December 2, and Nussmeier was hired atFlorida inGainesville a few weeks later, on the staff of new head coachJim McElwain.[19] In his third season with the Gators in2017, McElwain was fired in late October and Nussmeier was let go a month later.[20]
On February 14, 2018, Nussmeier was hired by theDallas Cowboys as their tight ends coach under head coachJason Garrett and offensive coordinatorScott Linehan. In 2020, Nussmeier was retained by the Cowboys under new head coachMike McCarthy, being promoted to quarterbacks coach.
In 2023, Nussmeier served as the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, joining his Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinatorKellen Moore.[21]
In 2024, Nussmeier once again followed Kellen Moore, with both of them joining thePhiladelphia Eagles in the same roles that they served with the Chargers.[22] He was part of the staff that wonSuper Bowl LIX over theKansas City Chiefs.[23]
After Moore was named the new head coach of theNew Orleans Saints, it was announced later that month that Nussmeier had been hired as the team's offensive coordinator on February 20, 2025.[24]
Nussmeier and his wife Christie have two sons and a daughter.[25] His sonGarrett is the starting quarterback for theLSU Tigers.[26][27][28]
