He played college football at West Virginia from 1993 to 1994 before transferring to Penn State, where he earned Dean's List and Big Ten Conference All-Academic Team recognition.

[4] In 2017, Nixon became the co-offensive coordinator/play-caller and running backs coach for the Baylor Bears[5] under Matt Rhule for the next three years.

In the 2019 season, the Nixon led offense averaged 36 points per game (17th in the country) and helped guide Baylor to a Top 10 rank and a Sugar Bowl berth playing against the Georgia Bulldogs.

In 2020, Nixon joined the Carolina Panthers as the team's running backs coach / senior offensive assistant under Rhule.

[8] In December 2023, Nixon joined Syracuse as offensive coordinator under new head coach Fran Brown for the 2024 season.