A few days ago, we explored one of the incumbent assistant coaches currently on the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff that can potentially pique the interest of the next head coach.
That was current defensive run game coordinator and defensive line boss Rob Leonard. That piece mentioned Leonard was one of the incumbents that have a chance to stick in the next incarnation of the coaching staff in Las Vegas. The other is current tight ends coach Luke Steckel.
With a versatile background during his 17-year career — offensive assistant, assistant wide receivers coach, assistant offensive line coach, and tight ends coach — Steckel understands the nuances and how his position groups fit into the overall offensive scheme where he’s been.
Steckel’s continued tenure with the Raiders — like Leonard and other staff members — is very much up in the air as the team’s head coaching search continues. The 40-year-old tight ends coach and the rest of the staff are still under contract in Las Vegas, however, their days with the Silver & Black are most likely limited.
General manager John Spytek made it clear the next head coach will be given full reign when it comes to their staff.
“I want to turn that over to the coach. I mean, we’re going to have a lot of great conversations about who, why, where. There’s going to be a lot of great football conversations,” Spytek said when asked if the next head coach will have autonomy to pick their staff, back during the season wrap-up press conference he had back on Jan. 5. “But my belief has always been you give a lot of the responsibility to the head coach to hire the staff that he wants to hire. It’s who reports to him and who he works with every day.”
Las Vegas’ coaching search added a new candidate on Saturday with the team confirming an interview with former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll taking place which ups the list to 15 coaches the Raiders ahve spoken to about their opening.
Cool Hand Luke
Known for his attention to detail, Steckel imparts that onto the players he’s charged with coaching. For the Raiders, Steckel’s emphasis on fundamentals translates into the tight ends group focusing on blocking. He’s of the mantra that tight ends who can be an asset in both pass protection and the ground game as blockers translates into earned opportunities to run routes and catch passes.
Steckel’s high energy and driven mindset helps make the complex simple of his group and it’s one where the tight ends push one another.
The biggest stamp on Steckel’s role as tight ends coach is the development of Brock Bowers. The scintillating Georgia product set NFL rookie records with 112 receptions and 1,194 receiving yards by a tight end and Steckel had a hand Bowers’ ascension to an elite tight end in just his rookie campaign in 2024. Bowers’ yardage may have been cut to just 680 yards this past season — largely due to injury and availability (he played in just 12 games eight starts compared to 17 games and 16 starts in 2024) — but the tight end improved his touchdown catch tally from five his rookie year to seven this past season.
Too Old School
While Steckel’s belief that tight ends must be able, effective, and willing blockers first before becoming pass catchers is a solid philosophy for a ground-and-pound offense, that philosophy can be seen as outdated and too old school.
The NFL has evolved into a very pass-heavy league where being a receiver comes first and blocking comes at a premium or nice-to-have. With Bowers being one of — if not the — premiere pass catcher in the Raiders offense, seeing him as an in-line blocker takes away the best pass catcher on the roster. Fortunately, that was few and far between, but there were times where Bowers and fellow tight end Michael Mayer were used as extra blockers to help support an offensive line that was in shambles under offensive line coach Brennan Carroll.
With the Raiders eyeing an offensive-minded head coach, having an assistant who tends to the tight ends focusing on blocking first, catch second may not sync with the new head honcho.
Steckel also higher-level experience such as an offensive coordinator/play caller role as he’s been an assistant (no distinction) for 11 of the 17 years. In those other years, he had a more specific title such as tight ends coach, assistant offensive line coach, and assistant wide receivers coach.
