Doug Nussmeier Douglas Keith " Doug " Nussmeier ( born December 11 , 1970 ) is a college football coach , currently the offensive coordinator at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban . Early years . Nussmeier was born in Portland , Oregon , and is a 1989 graduate of Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego , a suburb south of Portland . College career . Nussmeier played college football at Idaho under John L . Smith , and won the 1993 Walter Payton Award , presented annually to the Division I - AA player of the year . That year , he threw a school - record 33 touchdown passes , leading the Vandals to an 11 - 3 record and the national semi - finals . During his final two seasons at Idaho ( 1992 – 93 ) , the offensive coordinator was Scott Linehan , later an NFL offensive coordinator and head coach . Linehan was the Vandals ' starting quarterback for three seasons ( 1984 – 86 ) under head coaches Dennis Erickson and Keith Gilbertson . A four - year starter at quarterback , Nussmeier succeeded John Friesz , another Walter Payton Award winner ( 1989 ) . As a senior in 1993 , he 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 three quarterbacks in NCAA history to throw for at least 10 , 000 yards and rush for 1 , 000 yards ( 1 , 230 ) , joining Alcorn State ' s Steve McNair ( 1991 – 94 ) and Central Florida ' s Daunte Culpepper ( 1996 – 98 ) . 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 ) . He earned his bachelor ' s degree in business from the University of Idaho in 1994 . Pro career . Nussmeier was selected by the Saints in the fourth round of the 1994 NFL Draft , 116th overall . He was the fourth quarterback selected , behind first round selections Heath Shuler and Trent Dilfer . Nussmeier was a reserve quarterback in the NFL for five seasons in the mid - 1990s , spending four years with the New Orleans Saints ( 1994 – 97 ) and one with the Indianapolis Colts ( 1998 ) . During that time , he played in only eight regular - season NFL games , and threw for only one touchdown while throwing four interceptions . In 1998 , Nussmeier spent part of training camp with the Denver Broncos , but was released prior to the regular season and picked up by the Colts . He is one of only 32 left - handed quarterbacks to play in the NFL . Nussmeier finished his playing career with the BC Lions of the CFL in 2000 , and stayed with the organization as the quarterbacks coach for 2001 . Coaching . After coaching the quarterbacks for the BC Lions in 2001 , he became the quarterbacks coach and de facto offensive coordinator of the Ottawa Renegades in 2002 . He was the quarterbacks coach for John L . Smith , his college head coach , at Michigan State for three seasons ( 2003 - 05 ) before moving on to the NFL , where he was the quarterbacks coach under head coach Scott Linehan for the St . Louis Rams for two seasons ( 2006 – 07 ) . He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Fresno State for a season in 2008 , then was hired in the same capacity at Washington in early 2009 . His annual salary at UW was just under $ 300 , 000 . On January 18 , 2012 , Nussmeier was announced as the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Alabama football program , replacing outgoing coordinator Jim McElwain . Under his guidance , junior quarterback A . J . McCarron set the school record for touchdowns in a season with 26 . McCarron threw an additional four touchdowns in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game against Notre Dame in a 42 – 14 victory , which allowed McCarron to set another school record for career touchdown passes .