Rams offensive assistant Nathan Scheelhaase stayed with the team this offseason despite interest from other teams in hiring him as their offensive coordinator, and head coach Sean McVay considers that a major win.
McVay promoted Sheelhaase to passing game coordinator and said on Monday that he views Scheelhaase as someone who should be involved in every aspect of the offense.
“He’s a stud,” McVay said. “He’ll be involved in all parts of the game plan.”
McVay said Scheelhaase has a gift for doing everything a coach needs to do, whether it’s part of his official job description or not.
“The great ones redefine what that is because they do a little bit more and they’re just a little more intrinsically motivated and they’ve got just a little bit better feel on how you deal with people,” McVay said. “I think this guy’s a special coach and I’m not going to take for granted the time I have with him. I thought it was cool that he chose to say with us with some other opportunities he had. That meant a lot to me. He is a rising star, without a doubt.”
The 34-year-old Scheelhaase was a quarterback at Illinois, then an assistant coach at Illinois and Iowa State before joining the Rams a year ago. He’s likely a future NFL offensive coordinator or head coach, and McVay is helping him develop into that role.
