By Salma El-Sakka
Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase credits his year and a half as a youth pastor at a Kentucky megachurch for shaping the relational skills that now help him run one of the NFL's most potent offenses. Promoted to the role last winter, the 35-year-old oversees a Super Bowl contender's attack after a rapid rise through college and professional ranks.
From Megachurch to Locker Room
After a four-year starting quarterback career at the University of Illinois, Scheelhaase moved to Louisville in 2014 to work with teenagers at Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest megachurches in the United States. He visited dozens of high schools and served as a volunteer chaplain for two football programs, focusing on building trust and helping students pursue goals larger than themselves. The experience taught him to connect with people from diverse backgrounds — a skill he says translates directly to a football locker room.
A Tradition of Faith and Sport
Scheelhaase's path echoes a long American tradition linking sports and faith. Basketball inventor James Naismith viewed athletics as a vehicle for Christian ministry, while football innovator Amos Alonzo Stagg, a Yale divinity student, coined the term "muscular Christianity." Former USC and Seahawks assistant Rocky Seto followed a similar trajectory, leaving coaching to become a pastor before returning to the sideline, noting the parallel between delivering a sermon and a pregame speech.
Turning Point at a High School Chapel
Scheelhaase initially resisted coaching, wary of the profession's instability after marrying in 2013. A conversation with Illinois team chaplain Jason Epperson led him to the Louisville youth pastor role. While leading a chapel service for Eastern High School players in 2014, Scheelhaase saw the head coach command the room's full attention. "There is a cool ability to impact as a coach," he recalled thinking. That moment redirected his career.
Rapid Ascent Through Coaching Ranks
By the 2015 season, Scheelhaase was coaching running backs at Illinois. He later became offensive coordinator at Iowa State in 2023 before joining Sean McVay's Rams staff in 2024 as an offensive assistant — a role that involved drawing plays for the head coach. McVay called him "a special coach" and "a rising star." When Scheelhaase interviewed for NFL head coaching jobs last winter, he consulted former Colts and Panthers head coach Frank Reich, who also attended seminary and pastored before returning to the NFL. Reich affirmed the carryover between ministry and coaching: long hours, deep preparation, and the need to inspire belief.
Now, Scheelhaase's life still revolves around Sundays — only the venue has changed from a sanctuary to SoFi Stadium.
