Nate Scheelhaase seeks to make most of big opportunity as Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nate Scheelhaase went from a largely unknown Los Angeles Rams assistant to interviewing for multiple NFL head coaching vacancies to becoming Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator in only a few months.

Even with that sudden upward trajectory, and the prospect of more to come, Scheelhaase is taking everything in stride.

“If you come to work, do your job every day with excellence, man, there’s good things out there for you,” Scheelhaase said.

Scheelhaase, 35, was already on the coaching fast track before his whirlwind start to 2026. He was a four-year starting quarterback at Illinois and became a football department staffer at his alma mater before moving into an on-field role. In 2018, Scheelhaase headed to Iowa State as an assistant under Matt Campbell, becoming offensive coordinator ahead of the 2022 season.

Scheelhaase joined the Rams in 2024 and spent the past two seasons working on the passing game, helping out McVay and then-offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, who became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in February.

All four of McVay’s previous offensive coordinators are now NFL head coaches, with LaFleur, his brother Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, and Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota all going from the Rams to their current positions. Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen spent one season calling plays for Tampa Bay before he was hired by the Jaguars following his coordinator stint in Los Angeles.

It was that pedigree which likely played a part in the interest Scheelhaase received from at least five teams who interviewed him for their vacancies in January, seemingly with the aim of getting the next standout from the McVay tree as a head coach or offensive coordinator before anyone else.

Instead, Scheelhaase elected to stay with the Rams and was promoted to coordinator in February after LaFleur’s departure.

“I was super excited to do that in a place where I had a lot of familiarity, continuity with the staff and continuity with the players,” he said. “It’s rare to be able to move up in the profession as far as responsibilities go and do that in one place. So, to continue to learn alongside Sean, alongside the staff and to continue to work with these players, it was cool.”

While his previous duties included drawing out plays every week so the offense could put them into practice on the field, Scheelhaase will now be working with McVay to design and execute game plans for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Scheelhaase could not turn down the opportunity to continue learning from McVay, particularly with the Rams coming off a 2025 season where the offense led the NFL in scoring, total yards, yards per play, passing yards, and first downs.

“Being here, it is a great place to just learn to ask questions, to hear things taught in a way that you feel like really makes an impact for our players and certainly for what we’re trying to do as an offense, defense and special teams. Hearing Sean and how he’s done offense for as long as he’s done it, it’s a pretty cool thing,” Scheelhaase said.

Scheelhaase will also have the opportunity to continue working with NFL MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford and star receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. There will also be the chance to help rookie quarterback Ty Simpson acclimate to the NFL after the Rams drafted him 13th overall in April, which could be particularly valuable experience for what Scheelhaase might encounter should he become a head coach.

Even with a bright future ahead, Scheelhaase is keeping his focus on the present. This week, it means getting the most out of organized team activities for Rams players and himself.

“To be able to work alongside Sean in that way and this staff, I feel fortunate because there’s not a better place in my mind to be learning and growing in that way,” he said.

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Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase watches his players during the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, center, gives instructions to quarterback Stetson Bennett IV (13) during the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

NEW YORK (AP) — NASA on Tuesday revealed the crew for its Artemis III mission, the next step in the space agency's plan to eventually land astronauts on the moon.

The announcement came two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip around the moon that surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.

NASA's Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano won't fly to the moon or land on the surface. Instead, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week demo is targeted for 2027. Blue Origin suffered a recent setback when its massive rocket exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in Florida, shaking nearby homes and illuminating the sky with an orange fireball.

NASA's Jeremy Parsons said the setback is a learning opportunity and that the space agency is confident Blue Origin's rocket will be ready in time.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. A recent revamp of the program announced by Isaacman aims to fast-track it similarly to the Apollo era, adding the upcoming spaceflight around Earth before eyeing a lunar landing in 2028.

“We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” said Bresnik, Artemis III commander.

Added Douglas, mission specialist: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full."

In May, NASA awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four companies, including Blue Origin, to build landers, rovers and drones for a future moon base. Isaacman said the goal of the moon base is to lay the foundation for a Mars expedition.

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This undated photo provided by NASA Tuesday, June 9, 2026, shows the Artemis III crew including, from left, Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio, posing for an official portrait. (Bill Stafford/NASA via AP)

FILE - In this image provided by NASA, The Artemis II crew captured this view of an Earthset on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. (NASA via AP, File)