Silver And Black Pride
Despite new additions, Luke Steckel back as Las Vegas Raiders tight end coach
Even with the adjustments head coach Pete Carroll made to his coaching staff when he arrived, the sea of change didn’t sweep away the tight ends coach.
Luke Steckel’s return to the Las Vegas Raiders shouldn’t come as a surprise, however.
On optics alone, it’d be tomfoolery for a head coach to dismiss a position coach that oversaw a record-setting rookie season from phenomenal 2024 NFL Draft first-round pick Brock Bowers. The Georgia product set the bar for most receptions by a rookie with 112 last season, along with most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in league history (1,194). And at 22 years of age heading into Year 2, sky’s the limit for Bowers.
Steckel’s remaining in place is whether you believe he had involvement in Bowers’ exceptional initial season in the league or not.
Because the fact of the matter is: From the overhaul both Carroll and general manager John Spytek made to the coaching crew and front office staff, respectively, Steckel stuck. And we’re going to see if he can continue to improve and refine Bowers and the rest of the tight end room in Las Vegas.
“First and foremost, I’m just extremely grateful to have a chance to stay on. You know how this league works. There’s so much turnover every year,” Steckel said in a Q&A session for the Raiders official website back in April. “So, to have the opportunity to be here with an organization as great as this one and to work for a coach like Pete with the resume he has, I mean, he is as advertised. He is high energy. He has a positive mindset. He’s all about the culture that’s established in this building, and I can see why it’s something that’s really easy to buy into.”
The 40-year-old assistant coach’s presence in Las Vegas provides not only Bowers, but Michael Mayer and Justin Shorter continuity in the tight ends room. Regime changes are a source of constant turnover and affording the top tight ends at the position group to have the coach who guided them in 2024 is a good path forward.
Now Steckel gets to mix it up with not only a seasoned veteran of a head coach in Carroll, but also offensive coordinator Chip Kelly who brings a wealth of experience in his own right. Kelly’s attack and concepts often puts players in the best position to succeed, thus the time and training Steckel puts with his tight end group is going to be mission critical.
Especially considering Bowers is the de facto No. 1 receiver — albeit as a tight end and not a traditional wide receiver (although he has eerily similar skillset to the Raiders in the wide receiver room).
Yet, despite being on the younger end in terms of age in the coaching world, Steckel has some old-school based roots. Such as what he initially seeks from his tight...
