College

Carmichael began his coaching career as the assistant offensive line coach at the University of New Hampshire in 1994, with the Wildcats winning the Yankee Conference championship. Followed by being the quarterbacks coach at Louisiana Tech from 1995 to 1999.^[3]

Early NFL years

Carmichael's first NFL job was in 2000 when he was the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns. The following year Carmichael became the quality control coach for the Washington Redskins. He would hold the same position with the San Diego Chargers in 2002^[4] until he was promoted in 2004 to the team's assistant wide receivers coach.^[3]

New Orleans Saints

Carmichael worked closely with Drew Brees throughout his career with the Saints. Both arrived in New Orleans from San Diego in 2006^[5] when Carmichael became the team's quarterbacks coach. In 2008, Carmichael added on the title of passing game coordinator.^[3] He was named offensive coordinator on January 12, 2009, replacing Doug Marrone, who left to become the head coach of the Syracuse Orange.^[6][5]

Throughout his time with the Saints, he was an important figure in the planning and preparation of the team's offensive attack, which ranked first in the league in yardage in his first six seasons and in the top nine every year during his tenure as offensive coordinator. During this period, the club's 14-year streak of finishing in the top 10 in offense is the third-longest since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. Between 2009 and 2017, the Saints had top-five offenses in eight of nine seasons.^[1]

After offensive struggles following the departures of Drew Brees and Sean Payton, in 2020 and 2021 respectively, and three consecutive seasons without making the postseason, Carmichael was fired from the Saints after the 2023 season on January 16, 2024.^[7]

Denver Broncos

On February 14, 2024, Carmichael was hired as senior offensive assistant coach of the Denver Broncos, reuniting him with Broncos head coach Sean Payton.^[1]