Raiders coach believes Bowers ‘only getting better’ entering 2nd season

New Raiders coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek led a dramatic overhaul of the front office and coaching staff this offseason.

One person they decided to keep in place was tight ends coach Luke Steckel.

It wasn’t much of a surprise. Steckel, 40, helped 2024 first-round pick Brock Bowers break the NFL record for most receptions by a rookie with 112.

The Princeton grad and son of former Vikings coach Les Steckel recently sat down with the Review-Journal to discuss coaching a phenom like Bowers and how he hopes to continue his professional development under Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly:

RJ: Let’s start with last year. Was that obviously the greatest coaching job in NFL history when it came to Bowers?

Steckel: You know, I’ve always said the number one characteristic of all good coaches is good players. And when you have great players, sometimes you get confused for being a great coach. But it was a fun year. We accomplished a lot, but now we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do in 2025.

RJ: What’s the next step for Brock?

Steckel: You know what? I think the game is going to continue to slow down. I know there’s going to be huge expectations for him, but he’s a guy that’s just wired a certain way. So the expectations from himself are going to be higher than any other expectations people could put on him. I think his approach as a pro every single day, his consistent work ethic, his focus, his attention to detail, it’s only getting better and better. It’s hard to point to one part of his game that needs to improve. I think as the game slows down more and more, you’re going to see every area continue to improve and he’s going to produce at a high level.

RJ: Everyone knows the talent he has, but tight ends don’t step in the league and do that. Was there a particular moment where you just knew this guy was different?

Steckel: Sure. I mean, for me, it kind of goes back to the first time I put on the tape. You know, you watch guys casually throughout the football season. You see them on TV playing their games, but until you get time to actually sit in your office and put on the tape when I evaluated him coming into the draft, you don’t know for sure. It was pretty evident right away that there’s something different about Brock. And then when he showed up here and got on the grass for the first time, it just confirmed what you had already seen on his college tape. So I don’t know if there was any one moment, but I’ll say this, there hasn’t been a moment to make me question what I initially thought the first time I ever watched him.

RJ: Last year was a weird second season for Michael Mayer, another talented tight end who took a personal leave and came back to contribute. How do you continue to get the most out of him?

Steckel: I think for Mike and for all of us, really, it’s just turning the page and looking forward to 2025. I think he’s going to be one of a number of guys that’s going to capitalize on being in a new offensive system and having a few more opportunities to contribute to the offense. Mike’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. I mean, he does absolutely everything we ask him to do. He does it 100 miles an hour. He’s a great guy. His energy is contagious. He’s a leader in our room. I’m excited for what he’s gonna be able to do in 2025.

RJ: What did it mean to you that with so much change in the organization, Carroll and Spytek chose to bring you back?

Steckel: The first word that comes to mind is just gratitude. This league is so crazy. There’s so much turnover on coaching staffs year in and year out, so to have the opportunity to stay in the Raiders organization, which I cherish and take seriously every day I walk in this building, and then to be able to work for a guy like Pete Carroll, someone who my entire career I’ve always wanted to work for, is amazing. He’s as advertised. His energy is contagious. The culture he builds is second to none and just in a very short window of time, I’ve learned so much from him under his leadership. So very grateful to still be here and excited for what the future holds for the Raiders.

RJ: Your job is to coach one specific position, but how different is it for you to be teaching those guys about their role in Kelly’s offense?

Steckel: You know what? I’ve tried to fight the need to try to go back in time and translate maybe old terms we had into new terms. Because the reality is, we’ve got six tight ends in the room this year and only two of them were here this time last year. So for me, it’s all about looking forward. It’s exciting to work under a guy like Chip Kelly as well, just learning from his creativity and all the different ways he likes to attack a defense. Just really focusing on the new offense, not looking back, not comparing one offense to the other, but excited to be in this offense. Everywhere Chip’s gone, he’s scored a lot of points and won a lot of games. Hopefully that trend continues this year.

RJ: And you’re still essentially learning that offense yourself. What is that process like?

Steckel: You know, there’s so much continuity between offenses. A lot of teams run similar schemes. It’s just learning the terminology, right? It’s like learning a different language, the vocabulary of what we call certain things, the emphasis on certain coaching points. But you’re absolutely right. So those few months in January, February, March, before the players show up, in the middle of April, we’re going through the same process they are when they arrive. We’re learning the offense. We’re meeting endless hours as a staff, making sure we’re ironing out all the details, getting on the same page. Having been through that process a number of times, that’s pretty common in the NFL. So I always get excited for that challenge because throughout that process, you’re always going to learn something new and add something to your arsenal if one day you get the chance to put in your own offense.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.