Reports: Doug Nussmeier tabbed by Jim McElwain to be Florida offensive coordinator

Michigan Wolverines offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, who was not expected to be retained after the team fired Brady Hoke after the regular season, is set to become the next offensive coordinator of the Florida Gators.

According to SI.com‘s Thayer Evans and FoxSports.com‘s Bruce Feldman, new Gators head coach Jim McElwain tabbed Nussmeier as his second staff hire after naming Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to the same position at Florida last week.

Unlike Collins, Nussmeier has worked on the same staff as McElwain. When McElwain was serving as Michigan State’s associate head coach, wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator under John L. Smith from 2003-05, Nussmeier was Smith’s quarterbacks coach.

He also succeeded McElwain twice, first as offensive coordinator at Fresno State (2008) and then again as offensive coordinator at Alabama (2012-13).

Under Nussmeier, Crimson Tide signal caller A.J. McCarron set a school record with 26 touchdowns in a single season. Nussmeier also led Alabama to a 42-14 victory over Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS Championship. The 2012 Crimson Tide set school records for offensive touchdowns (68), passing touchdowns (31), total points (542) and total offense (6,237 yards). His 2013 unit was not as successful but still finished as one of the top 10 teams nationally in yards per play.

He left for Michigan after the 2013 season for undisclosed reasons, though many believe the Wolverines made a substantial financial commitment to pry him away, making him one of the highest paid coordinators in college football.

Nussmeier won the 1993 Walter Payton Award as the Division I-AA Player of the Year in 1993 as a redshirt junior at Idaho. He played in eight NFL regular-season games with New Orleans (1994-97) and Indianapolis (1998) over five seasons and concluded his playing career in 2000 with the B.C. Lions of the CFL. He immediately transitioned into coaching, working as quarterbacks coach for B.C. (2001) and Ottawa (2002) before taking over at Michigan State. He went back to the NFL as quarterbacks coach of the St. Louis Rams (2006-07) but returned to college when he replaced McELwain at Fresno State. He then served a three-year stint as offensive coordinator at Washington (2009-11) before succeeding McElwain again at Alabama.

Among the quarterbacks he’s tutored in addition to McCarron are Jake Locker and Keith Price (Washington), Drew Stanton and Jeff Smoker (Michigan State) and Marc Bulger (St. Louis), who made the Pro Bowl under Nussmeier’s watchful eye.