There have been plenty of great players come through the Illinois football program, and one is going to be guiding a future Hall of Famer next season.
On Monday afternoon, it was made official that former Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is going to be the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.
Scheelhaase, a four-star recruit coming out of high school, picked the Orange and Blue for his playing career in the college ranks. He set some big-time marks in Champaign, which include the most offensive yardage by a player at 10,634 yards for his career.
The talented passer then went into the coaching ranks with stops at numerous programs, including Illinois and Iowa State. He then took his talents to the NFL.
A well-deserved promotion for our new Offensive Coordinator, Nate Scheelhaase! 👏 pic.twitter.com/mpFXVATttO
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 23, 2026
Scheelhaase is now heading into his third season with the Rams. He was an offensive assistant in year one. Last season, he became the passing game coordinator. Now, the rising coach is the offensive coordinator for future Hall of Fame quarterback Matthew Stafford.
There is an NFL head coaching job on the horizon for Nathan Scheelhaase
This promotion by the Rams doesn’t come as a surprise. Scheelhaase was a hot name in the coaching ranks as soon as the offseason started.
Scheelhaase received a handful of head coaching interviews. I believe he was pretty close to a few of those jobs, with the closest being the Cleveland Browns head man.
There is no doubt that a head coaching position is going to be the next step in Scheelhaase’s career. Give him a year or two as an offensive coordinator, and he will end up being the hottest name in the coaching cycle in 2027 and beyond.