The Los Angeles Rams will have a new offensive coordinator in 2026 as Mike LaFleur was named the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. There are several directions that the Rams could go on the offensive side of the ball. With that said, it is assumed at this point that passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase will get promoted.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams at least look at external options. With that said, given how late their season ran and how the coach hiring calendar works, those options are limited. As McVay said,
“We have a lot of great coaches in-house, but our job is to continuously build. It’s like putting together a team, your coaching staff. We’ve had a lot of reps at it for a lot of the right reasons. I am excited about diving in.”
As the Rams go through their interview and hiring process, I’ll be doing deep dives on the potential candidates. Today, we start with Scheelhaase. McVay could remain in-house and Nate Scheelhaase makes the most sense. After getting head coach consideration this offseason, he’s a rising coach in NFL circles and has spent the last two years in the Rams’ offensive ecosystem.
Still, hiring Scheelhaase would be zigging where McVay has typically zagged. Zac Robinson and Shane Waldron spent several years with the Rams without getting promoted as the offensive coordinator. Zac Taylor had experience as a coordinator with the Miami Dolphins and at Cincinnati. Still, when Matt LaFleur left, Taylor wasn’t promoted.
When the Rams hired an offensive coordinator in 2020, it was Kevin O’Connell who had spent the last three years in Washington. Liam Coen had spent time with the Rams but was hired as the offensive coordinator after spending a season at Kentucky. Mike LaFleur came from the Jets. All three of those guys had external coordinator experience.
With that said, a difference between Scheelhaase and others like Robinson and Waldron is the coordinator experience. Similar to Coen, Scheelhaase was a coordinator at the collegiate level. As the Des Moines Register noted,
“Scheelhaase, widely considered one of the best young assistant coaches in college football, spent just one season as Iowa State’s offensive coordinator. He oversaw significant improvement from a group that ranked among the country’s worst prior to his arrival…Scheelhaase is about as much a football lifer as you can get. The 33-year-old envisions himself as a head coach someday, which I guarantee will happen. He’s been on that path since going through a fellowship program with the Kansas City Chiefs a while back.”
Prior to Scheelhaase taking over in 2022, Iowa State ranked 113th in the nation in points per game, scoring 20.2 points per game. Under Scheelhaase, that jumped to 26.2 points per game. They went from averaging 5.1 yards per play to 6.2. At Iowa State, he coached all over the offense. He started as the running backs coach in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, Breece Hall had a career-high 5.8 yards per carry. In 2019 and 2020, Scheelhaase coached wide receivers, and in 2023, as offensive coordinator, he also served as the quarterbacks coach.
Under Scheelhaase, the Cyclone offense led the nation with 11 touchdown plays of at least 50 yards. The leading wide receivers of that team were Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, who were both drafted by the Houston Texans last April.
Outside of his experience at Iowa State, Scheelhaase was also part of the minority fellowship program in 2021 with the Kansas City Chiefs, working with quarterbacks. Scheelhaase would have coached under quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka.
Scheelhaase has prior coordinator experience at a high collegiate level and then has worked within the Rams’ ecosystem over the last two years. He took the same path as Coen drawing plays in the offense. This past season, he served as the passing-game coordinator. As a reminder, the Rams passing game averaged 0.24 EPA per dropback during the regular season which was the best of the McVay era.
Another aspect where Scheelhaase may have had an impact is in the red zone. At Iowa State, Scheelhaase’s offense was built on red zone efficiency where his offense ranked second nationally. While Davante Adams helped, the Rams ranked seventh in red zone offense efficiency in 2025. Their 64.4 percent touchdown rate in the red zone was their highest since 2019.
With McVay as the head coach, the Rams offense isn’t going to significantly change. There are aspects of the offense that may change so that it feels different. In 2021, the Rams went from an under center play action team to running more empty. This past season, they incorporated more 13 personnel. However, the core ingredients of the offense will remain the same. By promoting Scheelhaase, the Rams would be able to continue adding to what they started this past season in 13 personnel, especially in the passing game.
The end goal for Scheelhaase is to be a head coach and the best place for him to develop is with the Rams. Having coordinator experience at the NFL level is the one thing missing on his resume. After spending two years in the offense and learning under McVay, this is the next logical step.
While it would mean McVay going with an internal hire for the first time, the Rams head coach hasn’t ever had someone like Scheelhaase on his staff. With one more year in the current window to compete, promoting Scheelhaase would allow the Rams to run it back one more time with Matthew Stafford as the team looks to build on this past year’s success.
