LA Rams rumors: 2 rumored coaching hires are far more important than you know

THe LA Rams suffered 10 coaches lost in the 2023-24 coaching carousel, a ridiculously high number if you consider the Rams were a 3-6 team at one point in the 2023 NFL season. But when it comes to the LA Rams coaching staff, annual vacancies are a given. And this football team has become quite adept and experienced at identifying, interviewing, and hiring some of the best football minds available, whether unemployed, working in other NFL football organizations, or rising among the coaching ranks of college football programs.

The sheer weight of coaches lost each season is incredibly burdensome on the Rams organization. Whether real or perceived, the burden to interview and replace so many quality coaches dilutes the ability of this organization to pivot seamlessly from one season to the next. The burden seems to be born unevenly each year, with the Rams forced to yolk the lion's share of supplying new coaches to the other 31 NFL teams.

The burden is so focused on the organization, that I believe the NFL should consider either limiting the number of coaches hired elsewhere in any given year by one team or considering some form of compensation to incentivize teams that are unduly pillaged each year. A third and perhaps more palatable option would be to allow any NFL team adversely impacted by a loss of four or more coaches in any hiring cycle (not fired) to be allowed to start their offseason workouts a week early.

Still, the team has plenty of history at going through this in the past. Unlike the aftermath of winning Super Bowl LVI, the Rams have demonstrated a far more disciplined process of vetting coaching candidates, and seem to be emphasizing their ability to work with younger players, communicating at high levels in all scenarios, and possessing a sound fundamental knowledge of football that is independent of the Rams strategy and philosophy.

Coaching hires, which we have all witnessed first-hand, may be one of the most critical steps to building a championship team. After the Super Bowl LVI victory, the rush and shortcuts to add new coaches seemed to backfire when the team was pummeled by incessant injuries. Coaches were forced to face indomitable scenarios, muck like Star Trek's infamous Kobayashi Maru scenario, the no-win scenario.

So let's recap the team's coaching losses, and plug in the rumored new hires who are anticipated to join the coaching staff in 2024:

2 key coaching hires now rumored to be joining 2024 Rams coaching staff

1. Recapping the Rams coaching changes
2. Why these two hires could be their most important of 2024
3. What should you know about the new Pass Game Specialist?
4. Reason III: Scheelhaase has a tremendous offensive background
5. Reason II: Cyclones offense improved six points per game after promoting Scheelhaase to OC
6. Reason I: He coached alongside 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and coach Rocc Becht
7. What should you know about the new QB coach?
8. Reason IV: He brings tremendous NFL coaching experience to the staff
9. Reason III: He holds players accountable
10. Reason II: He essentially swaps roles with former Rams coach Zac Robinson
11. Reason I: Dave Ragone gets optimal production from his QBs

Recapping the Rams coaching changes

To successfully track all of the Rams coaching changes, it's always a good idea to present the information in a format that allows the reader to associate the new rumored hires with the former coaches who held those positions in the past.

• *1 LA Rams rumored to have interviewed Greg Williams for LB vacancy
• *2 LA Rams rumored to have hired ex-Titans A2HC John Streicher in a new role
• *3 LA Rams rumored to have hired ex-Falcons OC Dave Ragone as QB coach
• *4 LA Rams rumored to have hired Iowa St OC Nate Scheelhaase as Pass Game Specialist.

The Rams appear to have addressed all of the major coaching vacancies with the latest rumored set of hires. If true the remaining four vacancies may not be addressed until the team announces all new coaching hires for the 2024 NFL season. As of right now, the remaining vacancies on the coaching staff are as follows:

1. Assistant Head Coach | Last held by Jimmy Lake |
2. Offensive Assistant | Last held by K.J. Black |
3. Offensive Assistant | Last held by Nick Jones |
4. Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning | Last held by John Griffin |

If the Rams rumors are true, the team has made significant progress in refilling key vacancies in the coaching staff rather rapidly. That is quite important because many important decisions that face the team will require meaningful input from these coaches. Whether the topic is which players are priorities to re-sign this year, which free agents might be targets in the 2024 NFL Free Agency market, or even who should the Rams select in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, the mission is clear.

The Rams gained significant positive momentum through great vetting and adhering to a modest budget that forced the team to seek and sign great value in player additions. Hopefully, a more abundant supply of salary cap dollars in 2024 will not encourage the front office to abandon those principles this offseason.

Why these two hires could be their most important of 2024

Even as the LA Rams offense enjoyed a renaissance in 2023, the future of the team's offense remains quite murky. The team witnessed how desperately their fortunes depend on the health and durability of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp in 2022. Even with the surprising discovery of rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua in 2023, alongside the team's resurging performance of QB Matthew Stafford in 2023, the team's passing game and quarterback room remains shrouded in the fog of uncertainty.

It's that imminent lack of confidence in what the future may hold for the team's passing arsenal, and quarterback status, that makes the roles of the new quarterback coach and the new pass game specialist so very important to the success of the team.

Even while the team has no expectation of a sudden and sharp decline for either Stafford or Kupp in 2024, the tenure of both the team's new QB coach and Pass Game Specialist are such that both hires should be expected to be able to address any challenges or complications should either Stafford or Kupp fall to a serious injury, or perhaps even opt to retire.

As of today, the Rams roster is quite vulnerable to either scenario. The Rams have can depend on second-year WR Puka Nacua to handle much of the receiving responsibilities. But who is the WR2 in that scenario if Cooper Kupp is not able to suit up? The future becomes far darker if the Rams are suddenly faced with a prolonged absence of Matthew Stafford. As of today, the Rams option are two untested young arms: QB Stetson Bennett or QB Dresser Winn. Neither of which has proven to be capable of handling the responsibility of starting for this team for any number of consecutive games.

Both new hires will be expected to aid in formulating action plans to address the depth and succession plans for both quarterbacks and receivers in the years ahead. With so much responsibility facing the team's new hires, what can we tell you about them today?

What should you know about the new Pass Game Specialist?

The LA Rams have reached out to an unlikely source, the Iowa State Cyclones, to find their next Pass Game Specialist. He is Nate Scheelhaase, the former Iowa State offensive coordinator. So why did the team reach out for an NCAA coach for such an imporant role? Well, we have some information that can help explain the interest:

Reason III: Scheelhaase has a tremendous offensive background

Nate Scheelhaase played quarterback for the University of Illinois as recently as 2013. He returned to the Illinois football team in 2015 as a running backs coach. He became the offensive analyst in 2016 through 2017 NCAA seasons. He joined Iowa State to coach their running backs in 2018. He also coached wide receivers in 2018. He was promoted to Offensive Coordinator in December 2022, after the team fired OC Tom Manning after the offense struggled in 2022.

Reason II: Cyclones offense improved six points per game after promoting Scheelhaase to OC

It was the Iowa State offense that placed Nate Scheelhaase on the short list of rising NCAA coaching stars. In 2023, Iowa State's offense improved dramatically, averaging 26.2 points per game, up from the previous season's average of just 20.2 points per game. That spike in offensive output allowed the team to finish the season with a 7-6 record.

He brings more than creative play-making to the table. Under Scheelhaase’s leadership, the Cyclones boast the seventh-ranked collegiate offense in red zone efficiency (31-for-33) in 2023 and finished the 2023 season with a 6-3 record in Big 12 Conference play (7-6 overall).

Reason I: He coached alongside 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and coach Rocc Becht

It may be easy to forget the fact that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy played four seasons for the Iowas State Cyclones, from 2018 through 2021. And while he played for the Cyclones, Nate Scheelhaase was coaching running backs and wide receivers for the team.

Scheelhaase has also been instrumental in coach up current Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht. The redshirt freshman earned the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year award after throwing for 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns. With the Rams looking to a successor to QB Matthew Stafford, getting insider information on a quarterback of Becht's quality could be infinitely advantageous in the future.

What should you know about the new QB coach?

The LA Rams have to understand just how vital their quarterback coach is to the present day and future success of the team. This vacancy, and the critical role this coach will play in determining the direction that the team will take with the quarterback position, is far too important to shoulder with a young and unproven coach. This coach must not only be familiar with the Rams offensive strategy, but must be in lockstep as he will communicate the offense to young quarterback as they arrive at the team.

It is that need to toggle from working with veteran passers to welcoming new and less experienced quarterbacks simultaneously that makes this vacancy so difficult to fill. And it's why Coach McVay targeted such an accomplished NFL coach in his own right for the job. So what can we tell you about Dave Ragone?

Reason IV: He brings tremendous NFL coaching experience to the staff

Ragone is a former NFL quarterback, and began his NFL coaching career with the Tennessee Titans in 2011 as their wide receivers coach. He moved over to become the quarterbacks coach in 2013 through 2014.

He hired on with the Washington Commanders as an an offensive quality control coach in 2015, and then hiring on as the quarterbacks coach with the Chicago Bears from 2016 through 2019. He took on the role of pass game coordinator in 2020 before hiring on as the Atlanta Falcons' Offensive Coordinator from 2021 through 2023.

Reason III: He holds players accountable

When he served as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, he was known as a coach who demanded that all players are fully prepared to compete in the game, and he holds his players accountable.
(click this link for a great video of Dave Ragone's press conference as Falcon's OC)

Dave Ragone is among coaches who is considered a friend of Rams head coach Sean McVay. While that did not work out well when the team hired former Rams prodege Liam Coen to take over as the teams Offensive Coordinator role, it does hold significant value when taken as the new QB Coach for the team

Reason II: He essentially swaps roles with former Rams coach Zac Robinson

If you check the data table from Slide 2 of this article, you can see clear evidence that Dave Ragone essentially swapped roles with that of Zac Robinson. Robinson fills Ragone's vacancy in the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff as their new offensive coordinator, while Ragone fills Robinson's vacancy in the LA Rams coaching staff as the new QB coach.

That is not a random coincidence.

Reason I: Dave Ragone gets optimal production from his QBs

Dave Ragone was an offensive coordinator who oversaw the transition from veteran quarterback Matt Ryan to young rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder. Ridder was a quarterback who was selected in Round 3 of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 74th overall pick, and who started 15 games in 2023, completing 249 of 388 passes for 2,836 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. While that may not seem like anything to get excited about, the Falcons receiving corps was not exactly loaded with star talent.

While QB coach for the Chicago Bears, Ragone helped to coach then quarterback Mitch Trubisky to career heights in 2018, a year in which Trubisky passed 289 of 434 passes for 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. That same year, Trubisky rushed 68 times for 421 yards and three touchdowns. Trubisky has not enjoyed anywhere close to that level of NFL success since he has Ragone parted ways.

FYI, Mitch Trubisky is a free agent in 2024, and we will discuss how the Rams new link to Trubisky could solve the team's backup quarterback dilemma for 2024.

From this quick and dirty analysis, the Rams clearly have done their homework and appear to have done a remarkable job at filling vacancies on the coaching staff once more. Now, it's the slow boat to China waiting game as we must see how these new coaches may impact the Rams 2024 success, and future. Stay tuned . . .

And as always, thank you for reading.