Saints lay the first cornerstone to bring ideal Derek Carr replacement to New Orleans

I have seen enough. Not to say that I have been to the future, but I know what is about to happen. It made all the sense in the world for the New Orleans Saints to pursue LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft anyway. He is projected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken next spring. It just so happens that his father is very close with Kellen Moore, too.

Yes, the Saints are hiring former Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier to be their offensive coordinator. He first got connected with Moore when they were on the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff back in 2018. They have been on the same coaching staff ever since, spending last year in Philadelphia and 2023 with the Los Angeles Chargers upon leaving the Cowboys after 2022.

Garrett Nussmeier is entering his final season at LSU. While he is immensely talented, he only became the starter last season. This is because he had to back up Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels the two previous seasons. Nussmeier seems to be cut from the same quarterback cloth that gave us Matthew Stafford out of Georgia in 2009 and Justin Herbert out of Oregon in 2020.

The Saints may have the No. 9 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but I doubt they will take a quarterback.

Derek Carr is still under contract and it would be far too punitive to move on from him just yet.

New Orleans Saints are one step closer to drafting Garrett Nussmeier

This may be Doug Nussmeier's first NFL offensive coordinator job, but he has been coaching in the league for about a decade. He has held this role in several spots in college football, most notably for Nick Saban at Alabama and under fellow Saban disciple Jim McElwain at Florida. Even more interesting, Nussmeier spent four years as a quarterback on the Saints in the mid-to-late 1990s.

With his job, the Nussmeiers had to move around a bunch, but Garrett would spend his summers at his mother's native Lake Charles, Louisiana. He may have played his high school football in Texas when his father was on the Cowboys staff, but it was a no-brainer for him to go play for the Bayou Bengals in Baton Rouge. Could he not even have to get a new license upon being drafted next year?

It has been a painfully long time since the Saints last drafted a quarterback in the first round. The last guy to hold that distinction was none other than Archie Manning coming out of Ole Miss way back in 1971. To me, it is all lining up for Garrett Nussmeier to be the chosen one to lead the new era of Saints football to the promised land. I would not be shocked if the Saints hired Moore for that very reason.

Of course, this can all be thwarted if the Saints were to somehow draft a quarterback at No. 9 overall.