The Los Angeles Rams were expected by some to be one of the worst teams in the NFL when this season started, but they ended up surprising many people in a pleasant way.
After starting 3-6, they got hot, winning seven of their last eight regular-season games, which sent them to the playoffs where they nearly knocked off the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card round.
Their offense was a big reason for that late-season surge, and per Adam Schefter, they have hired two new coaches for their offensive staff: Nate Scheelhaase, their new pass game specialist, and Dave Ragone, who will be their quarterbacks coach.
Scheelhaase was once a college quarterback at the University of Illinois, and he led his team to a win in the 2010 Texas Bowl with a very solid and efficient performance.
While he never went on to play in the NFL, he became a member of Illinois’ coaching staff, eventually getting promoted to the role of running backs coach.
In 2018, he moved on to Iowa State University, where he was a running backs coach, wide receivers coach, and eventually offensive coordinator.
Ragone was also a quarterback in the NCAA, and after a brief NFL career, he became a member of the Tennessee Titans’ coaching staff, where he was a wide receivers coach and later a quarterbacks coach.
He would later serve in different capacities on the coaching staffs of the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears before becoming the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator in 2021.
While L.A. has an aging quarterback in Matthew Stafford, they have an absolute stud in rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua, as well as veteran star wideout Cooper Kupp and a young stud running back in Kyren Williams.
They have to be considered, at the very least, a real threat to return to the playoffs next season.
