The Los Angeles Rams assistants are in demand for head coach interviews this offseason.
There have already been 11 requests made to interview Sean McVay’s top men, including defensive coordinator Chris Shula, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
Another team has emerged in need of a new head coach: The Pittsburgh Steelers. Following the departure of Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh will be looking for its next head coach for the first time in almost two decades.
Despite all of that history, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport speculated that Pittsburgh could look at someone with limited coaching experience: The Rams’ Scheelhaase.
“Kind of fits the mold of Mike Tomlin, but on the other side of the ball, a dynamic personality,” Rapoport said of Scheelhaase. “Someone that Sean McVay feels is going to be a future head coach. A bit of a wild card, someone who a lot of people aren’t sure is ready, but someone who they believe eventually will be a great head coach.”
Scheelhaase is only 35-years-old and has just two seasons of NFL coaching experience. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Illinois, where he played quarterback, before working his way up from position coach to offensive coordinator at Iowa State from 2019 to 2023. He’s been with the Rams since 2024, first as an offensive assistant and passing game specialist and then as a passing game coordinator in 2025.
While his coaching experience might be limited, Scheelhaase’s young age wouldn’t be unprecedented for Pittsburgh to hire him. Tomlin was 35 himself when he became the Steelers head coach in 2007 after just one year as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. Tomlin, though, had coached in the NFL for five seasons before taking on that role in Minnesota.
Scheelhaase’s name is getting a lot of attention regardless of whether he gets a head coaching gig this time around. Depending on what happens to LaFleur, he could earn himself a promotion in L.A. if he sticks around.
What happens next will have to wait, though. While in-person interviews cannot be conducted until next week, virtual interviews are allowed ahead of the divisional round game against the Chicago Bears.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: NFL insider links Nate Scheelhaase to Steelers as ‘a wild card’
