Raiders have added a new excellent but unknown name to their head coaching search that may throw everyone off
The Raiders are going to need to hire a head coach soon.
On Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders requested an interview with Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. They want to get it right this time, just as they have tried since hiring Jon Gruden the first time. Scheelhaase knows what winning looks like. He’s part of the Sean McVay coaching tree, a group from which many teams now draw.
Vegas needs a new head coach to rebuild the team. Instead of repeating past patterns like hiring Pete Carroll, they now seek a young, innovative leader. This strategy aligns with recent success stories, such as the Chicago Bears hiring Ben Johnson, who led them to a playoff win, and the Jacksonville Jaguars hiring Liam Coen, who brought them close to the playoffs.
The Raiders want to reach that level. Their goal is a Super Bowl, but they must first end a 22-year playoff win drought. They need a young coach who can adapt to modern football and rebuild them into a perennial playoff team. Maybe Scheelhaase can do that. A to Z Sports Rams beat writer AJ Schulte shared insight into Scheelhaase’s contributions so far.
Who is Nate Scheelhaase?
Nate Scheelhaase is one of the biggest up-and-comers in the NFL, and for good reason. With the Rams, he’s quickly expanded his role, going from just an offensive assistant to their Passing Game Coordinator in a single season. In Los Angeles, Scheelhaase was Sean McVay’s “play-drawer”, a role that other coaches like Zac Taylor and Liam Coen once held under McVay. Now, Scheelhaase serves as the Passing Game Coordinator, essentially coaching specific passing situations (third downs, two-minute drills, red-zone passes) and working with the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach to design, game-plan, and coordinate the team’s passing attack.
I’d say the Rams’ passing game is pretty well-designed this season, and Scheelhaase has been a big part in their development there as well as their expansion into heavier, more multiple-TE sets, something the Raiders would obviously be interested in with Bowers and Mayer. Before joining the Rams, he served as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach after spending two years as the run game coordinator, running backs coach, and wide receivers coach from 2018-23, coaching players like David Montgomery, Kene Nwangwu, Xavier Hutchinson, Breece Hall, Jaylin Noel, and Jayden Higgins. In his lone year as OC with the Cyclones, he guided Rocco Becht to set every Iowa State freshman passing record.
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