Nate Scheelhaase Credits Youth Pastorate in Louisville for Coaching Success

The Los Angeles Rams possess one of the most sought-after positions in professional football, and Nate Scheelhaase occupies it as the team's offensive coordinator. His path to that role included a year working as a youth pastor in Kentucky.

Scheelhaase, 35, relocated to Louisville in 2014 after completing his tenure as a four-year starting quarterback at the University of Illinois. He joined Southeast Christian Church, a major megachurch in the nation, to work directly with teenagers. During that period, he visited dozens of high schools and served as a volunteer chaplain for two football teams. The position focused on building trust and encouraging students to pursue goals beyond their immediate surroundings. He described the year as impactful.

Coaching was not his initial plan. He had married shortly before his playing career ended and observed enough coaching staff turnovers to doubt the profession was suitable for a young family. Corporate job interviews with Illinois alumni in Chicago also failed to inspire him. He contacted Jason Epperson, the Illinois football chaplain who had recently accepted a role at Southeast, who informed him of an opening for a youth pastor.

Local observers recognized his aptitude for the role. Chris Burke, an ESPN baseball analyst living nearby, noted Scheelhaase’s athleticism during pickup games and stated he looked perfectly suited for the job. When a mother requested help for her eighth-grade son, whose father had recently died, Scheelhaase provided rides and attended the boy’s practices. That student was Nate Hobbs, now a defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers and a close friend of Scheelhaase.

Andrew Coverdale, who was then the offensive coordinator at Trinity High School and now serves as passing game coordinator at Kentucky, described Scheelhaase as possessing confident humility. Coverdale noted that Scheelhaase did not expect students to listen simply because of his collegiate playing background, emphasizing the need for positive adult mentors.

A specific incident at a 2014 chapel service for Eastern High School football players shifted his perspective. Scheelhaase delivered a speech he believed was relatable, but it received little response. The head coach then stood to give a pregame talk, and the room was engaged. That contrast prompted him to consider the influence a coach could exert.

He began coaching running backs at Illinois in the 2015 season. He stated that recruiting and developing players felt similar to the trust-building he had practiced in Louisville. He said connection is how he is wired. He served as a coordinator at Iowa State in 2023 before joining Sean McVay’s Rams staff as an offensive assistant the following year. That role involved using software to draw plays for McVay to call. McVay described Scheelhaase as a special coach and a rising star without a doubt in 2025.