Garrett Nussmeier carries NFL family lineage to KC as Chiefs rookie quarterback
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- Garrett Nussmeier joined the Kansas City Chiefs as a seventh‑round rookie quarterback.
- He spent his college career at LSU, throwing for more than 7,000 yards and 52 touchdowns.
- He is the son of coach Doug Nussmeier, who worked as an NFL and college offensive coach.
Garrett Nussmeier grew up around the NFL because of his play-calling father. Now, he’s practicing in an NFL uniform for the first time.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ seventh-round NFL Draft pick — selected last weekend out of LSU — is the son of former NFL quarterback Doug Nussmeier, who is now the New Orleans Saints’ offensive coordinator.
The elder Nussmeier, 55, has had a long journey in football, coaching quarterbacks and coordinating offenses for teams in the major-college ranks, the Canadian Football League and now the NFL.
He was Alabama’s OC/QB coach when the Crimson Tide routed Notre Dame for the 2012 BCS national title. And he was Jalen Hurts’ QBs coach with the Eagles when Philadelphia blew out the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Garrett Nussmeier, the QB coach’s son and new Chief, was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but moved around North America as his father pursued a coaching career. The younger Nussmeier was a projected first-round pick at LSU before injuries limited him during the fall of 2025, his senior year.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound quarterback completed 337 of 525 passes for 4,052 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a junior. He ended his college career with 7,699 passing yards, 52 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
As Nussmeier begins his NFL career in KC, he remembers being around the Cowboys when his father coached the Dallas tight ends and QBs from 2018-22. He went to high school at Edward S. Marcus in Flower Mound, Texas.
“I have a familiar feel of, kind of, how things roll and how things work in this league,” Nussmeier said Friday. “But at the end of the day, I’m still a rookie, you know what I mean?
“I’m going through my first process in this, as well, so I’m taking it day by day and I’m just so grateful to be here.”
Nussmeier isn’t the only Chiefs QB with fatherly NFL ties taking part in this year’s rookie mini-camp. Quarterback EJ Warner, out of Fresno State, is the son of Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner.
Nussmeier also has a college teammate alongside him. First-round cornerback Mansoor Delane, a teammate at LSU, lauded Nussmeier’s leadership skills. The quarterback was issued No. 18 in college — a number that according to program tradition is presented to the player who best represents LSU football.
Ahead of the process, Nussmeier’s father — who was excused by the Saints to spend time with his son on draft weekend — gave him some advice most rookies are likely to hear.
“Just to go at it and just to be myself,” Nussmeier said, recalling his dad’s words. “To be a sponge, to be get better and focus on improving myself each and every day.”
