Scott Tolzien (pronounced TOLL-ZEEN) enters his first season as New Orleans' quarterbacks coach in 2025 after spending the past two seasons in the same role with the Dallas Cowboys.
After losing starting Dak Prescott to injury midway through the 2024 season, Tolzien integrated Cooper Rush into the starting role, where he finished 4-4, including victories over playoff participants Washington and Tampa Bay, completing 187-of-308 (60.7 pct.) passes for 1,844 yards with 12 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
In Tolzien's first season as quarterbacks coach in 2023 after serving as an offensive assistant for three seasons (2020-22), Prescott finished second in MVP voting as he led the NFL in completions (410) and passing touchdowns (36), the only Cowboys quarterback to lead the NFL outright in passing scores, while finishing second in passer rating (105.9) and third in yards (4,516). Prescott also reduced his interception totals from 15 in 2022 to nine in 2023, and his interceptions percentage of 1.5% was fourth among all NFL passers. Perhaps most impressive was Prescott's command of the offense, as he engineered three game-winning drives, a higher total than in any single-season since 2018, when he led five such drives, and now has 23 in his career. He finished with the most 100.0-rating games (11) and multi-passing touchdown games (11) league-wide.
Utilizing his experience from a seven-year NFL playing career at quarterback serving as an offensive assistant in 2022 for a final season before his promotion, while working with the quarterbacks, Tolzien was instrumental in preparing Prescott and Rush. After Prescott suffered a thumb injury in Week One, Tolzien helped assemble the offensive game plan for Rush, who went 4-1 in his five starts in 2022 and became the first quarterback in franchise history to win his first five career starts. When Prescott returned to action in Week Seven against Detroit (10/23), Dallas' offense led the league in offensive points-per-game (31.3) and third down offense (52.3%) and was third in yards-per-game (384.3) for the rest of the season.
The Cowboys offense grew to new heights in 2021, leading the NFL in scoring (31.2), including a franchise-record 530 points, and yards (407.0) while also reaching the end zone on 28.6% of drives, sixth in the league. Tolzien's close work with Prescott saw the quarterback set a career-high and franchise-record 37 touchdowns passes and record a 100.0 passer rating in eight games, tied for second in single-season team history.
In his first season with Dallas in 2020, Tolzien assisted with an offensive unit that ranked in the top-10 of most primary statistical categories. Despite losing Prescott to injury, the Cowboys offense ranked seventh in the NFL in receiving yards (4,511), eighth in net passing yards (4,161) and tied for ninth in scrimmage yards (6,299).
Before becoming an NFL coach, Tolzien was given a brief introduction to off-field tasks in 2019 at his alma mater, Wisconsin, where he served as an analyst scouting opponents. The Badgers finished the season with a 10-4 record, including a Big Ten Championship Game appearance and Rose Bowl berth.
Tolzien enjoyed a seven-year NFL career, originally signing with the San Diego Chargers under Philip Rivers as a rookie free agent in 2011. Following his first two campaigns with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-12), which included two trips to the NFC Championship Game, he spent three seasons as a backup to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay (2013-15), playing in six games with two starts and appeared in four games with two starts with the Indianapolis Colts from 2016-17.
Tolzien appeared in 29 games with 26 starts at Wisconsin, leaving with the school record for completion percentage (68.1) and efficiency rating (153.2). In his final season, 2010, he won the Johnny Unitas Gold Arm award, given annually to the top upperclassman quarterback in the country.
Tolzien was an All-State and All-Academic selection at William Fremd High School in Palatine, Ill.
He and his wife, Megan, have a son, Blake, and two daughters, Brooke and Caroline.
PLAYING CAREER: Wisconsin, 2006-10; San Francisco 49ers, 2011-12; Green Bay Packers, 2013-15; Indianapolis Colts, 2016-17.
COACHING CAREER: Dallas Cowboys, 2020-24; New Orleans Saints, 2025-.
