The Chargers fired both Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, and Quarterbacks Coach Shane Day on Tuesday morning. Losing both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach most certainly means an entire scheme change for the Charger's offense. Here is a potential candidate to lead the Charger's offensive playcalling next season.
Luke Steckel History
Luke Steckel is a Princeton graduate with NFL coaching bloodlines. His father, Les Steckel, was an offensive coach in the NFL from 1978-2003. His fathers stints include the 49ers (1978 | Pete McCulley) Vikings (1979-1984 | Bud Grant), Patriots (1985-1988 | Raymond Berry), Colorado (1991-1992), Broncos (1993-1994 | Wade Phillips), Oilers/Titans (1995-1999 | Jeff Fisher), Buccaneers (2000 | Tony Dungy), Bills (2003 | Gregg Williams). That wealth of experience ultimately passed on to Luke who began his coaching career with the Cleveland Browns in 2009.
With the Browns, Steckel was an Assistant to the Head Coach (Eric Mangini) through the 2012 season. In 2013, Steckel accepted a position with the Titans as an Offensive Assistant, and became the Assistant Wide Receivers coach in 2017. In 2018, he reverted to Offensive Assistant under Mike Vrabel who retained him on the coaching staff, and in 2021, became the Tight Ends coach.
It is also note worthy that Luke’s uncle, Dave Steckel, has been a collegiate coach from 1982-2019. He spent nearly the last 20 years with the Missouri Tigers coaching primarily defense. There is a lot of football in the Steckel family.
Case For Luke Steckel
Steckel comes from a football family. His father was an offensive coach in the NFL with experience as a head coach and offensive coordinator, and his uncle was a defensive coach in the college ranks for almost the entirety of his life. That is a great foundation of his football knowledge on both sides of the football field. If you mix that with his Ivy League degree, it’s a safe bet that Steckel is an extremely smart individual, which has shown itself to be a asset as a leader on a football team.
In 2021, Steckel became the Tight Ends coach and in 2022, he helped develop fourth-round draft pick Chigoziem Okonkwo into one of the best rookie Tight Ends of the season. Okonkwo was PFF’s highest graded rookie tight end with a 75.4 overall grade, and 84.6 receiving grade. In a passing game attack that featured Robert Woods and Treylon Burkes, it was Okonkwo who emerged as the biggest threat. He finished second on the team in receiving yards with 32 receptions on 46 targets for 450 yards and three touchdowns. Robert Woods nearly doubled Okonkwo in targets, and finished with just 77 more receiving yards. Okonkwo was so much more productive then every other receiving threat on the roster.
Case Against Luke Steckel
For a coach who has been in the NFL since 2009, why did it take him over 10 years to ascend to being a positional coach. Granted, there was a coaching change during his tenure with the Titans, but he had already been in the NFL for quite some time. He remained as an assistant to head coach Eric Mangini for four years before he was promoted to offensive assistant with the Titans under Jeff Fisher.
The fact that Steckel was an assistant for so long raises questions about his role as a positional coach. Many other coaches ascend much faster but Steckel remained complacent in his role as a coach. He was also unable to create any value through Geoff Swaim before Okonkwo was drafted by the Titans in 2022. We know nothing about his tendencies as a play caller, but if his foundation is that of the Titans coaching staff, it would be a run heavy offense which does not fit the strengths of the Chargers offense.
Can Steckel draw up passing concepts that take advantage of Justin Herbert’s arm strength? Is a single season coaching tight ends the right kind of experience you’re looking for to lead an entire offense. How will the offense look knowing how differently the Titans offense is structured compared to the Chargers. This is not a run heavy team, and the Titans offense is not something you want installed on the Chargers.
Bottom Line
The biggest draw for Luke Steckel is probably the coaching bloodlines that he comes from. Knowing his father was an offensive coach in the NFL for so long is enticing. Also is the fact that his uncle has knowledge on the opposite side of the ball. The issue is that football was a much different game played than what it is today. The question that remains is Luke’s ability to be an innovative offensive coordinator that can push the offense forward to keep up with the high powered offenses in the AFC. That is the ultimate unknown on Luke Steckel’s resume.
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