Turf Show Times
Scott Huff has a long, successful college coaching resume
Although the Los Angeles Rams have yet to officially announce it, news has been widely reported that Scott Huff will be hired as L.A.’s new tight ends coach. Huff replaces Nick Caley, who left for the Houston Texans offensive coordinator job. Caley had been the Rams tight ends coach for two seasons and added a pass game coordinator promotion for 2024.
Huff’s most recent stop in a 20-year coaching career was as the offensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks, which only lasted one season, 2024. That was his first taste of coaching in the professional ranks after a long tenure in the college game. His entire career has seen him involved in teaching offensive lines and tight ends.
After a couple years as a graduate assistant at Arizona State under Dirk Koetter, Huff began a 10-year run at Boise State, hired by Chris Petersen. During this period, he bounced back-and-forth between the offensive line and tight ends, adding a special teams coordinator title for 2014 and 2015. In his final season in Boise, he was tasked with co-offensive coordinator duties in addition to his work on the line.
Peterson had since moved west and took over the Washington Huskies and in 2017, Huff joined him to again tutor the offensive line and coordinate the run game. After Peterson left Washington, he held over in Seattle as line coach only for four more seasons under Jimmy Lake and Kalen DeBoer (two each). When DeBoer left for the Alabama job (2024), Huff remained in Seattle with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, now in the pro game with the Seahawks.
Looking at Huff’s past, he has extensive work in wide-open, multiple offenses. Under Peterson, run blocking was about creating numerical advantages and leverage. It also creates gaps/openings in zone pass coverages. This was accomplished by pre-snap movement, motion, and subtle changes in formation. Lots of two-tight end sets and they are almost always imbalanced. Basically to move defenders where you can best block them.
DeBoer is about tempo, playing at break-neck pace. Spreading things out creates a running game based on inside/outside zone and passes attacking downfield. His offense may employ four wide outs with no tight ends. Also beats opponents with a numerical advantage, but in this case, it’s the number of playmakers flooding and overwhelming areas.
It would certainly appear that L.A. will attempt to upgrade the unit’s blocking, I don’t see how you could think anything else. When you look at the returnees, you have to consider how much room for improvement they have. Are the basic building blocks (no pun intended) there to improve more than incrementally? Or are additions to the unit needed?
In the end, Huff has certainly worked for some innovative coaches. His first foray into the pro’s wasn’t a huge success, but his college teams were high-scoring, prolific in total yards, and...
