Oak Ridge roots, NFL rise: Shane Steichen soaring into Eagles-49ers NFC Championship Game

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Theirs was not a mentorship relationship, the pupil looking up admiringly to the teacher and the mentor barking back to the point of mouth foam to turn the boy into a man.

For tall, lanky teenage quarterback Shane Steichen, his dealings with a young Oak Ridge High School coach in Chris Jones some 20 years ago were different. They have since developed a close friendship.

Jones is retired from local prep coaching, but he’ll never bow out as a fan of football, and you won’t find a bigger, more passionate backer of Steichen, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator who this season has been on the NFL radar as the next hot-shot head coaching prospect.

Jones will be wired to his television Sunday at his home up the Highway 50 corridor as the Eagles host the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The contest will also include two other Oak Ridge graduates, revving up El Dorado Hills, as the 49ers employ reserve tight end Ross Dwelley and the Eagles have Ian Book on their quarterback depth chart.

Of that lot, the man who will be in the thick of the action, trying to solve the 49ers’ vaunted defense, is Steichen. Jones is delighted to see what his one-time leader has done, and how he’s done it.

“When he was a junior and senior at Oak Ridge for us, it was nice having a guy who understood the game in the big picture, and when we had him, we had a young coaching staff,” Jones told The Sacramento Bee this week. “For Shane and me, it wasn’t a father-son relationship because of how young I was. It was more of a peer relationship. We were also learning on the fly.”

Steichen at 6-foot-3 was dialed into his craft. He loved football, Jones said, and played the part as an intriguing prospect. He understood the game even then, and how to lead his team and work with coaches.

“Shane was just a great competitor, and there wasn’t one play or sequence where we were all convinced he was great, but gosh, he really competed his tail off and we loved that,” Jones said. “He wasn’t the biggest guy, a tall, skinny young kid who worked himself into a talented player. He was everything you’d want as a high school and college quarterback. He could zip it. He was smart, competitive — everything.”

Jones added, “It’s just really cool to watch what’s happened. He’s 37. He’s worked his way up through the ladder of coaching and it’s been so cool to watch. I follow it closely.”

Jones keeps in regular contact with Steichen. They talk by phone. They text. They visit when time allows. Jones watched the Eagles live in a game in Arizona this season, and the friends caught up with each other before and after the game. Steichen has often praised Jones.

“When I talk to him, it’s usually on his way home from the practice facility,” Jones said. “It’s late at night for him. It’s all consuming for him when you’re a coordinator. There’s a lot more asked of you, and it’s crazy to think that he went from being a graduate assistant at the college level to the assistant to an assistant in the pro game — making play cards, cutting film — all the grunt work. Now, here he is calling plays in the NFC Championship Game for a shot at the Super Bowl. The reality is, he’s going to be a head coach. He’s interviewed for three head jobs already.”

Steichen, while dialed into the Eagles’ playoff march, has interviewed for head coach jobs with Houston, Indianapolis and Carolina. The sooner the Eagles bow out, the sooner an NFL team can close in on him. Of course, Steichen would prefer to call plays in the Super Bowl on Feb. 15 in Glendale, Arizona.

Steichen has risen from high school prospect who was pressed into college quarterback duty as a true freshman at UNLV in 2003 to an old soul coaching marvel. No one seems to doubt his upside either.

“He’ll be a great head coach,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said last month in a news conference. “He can connect with guys. He can hold them accountable and he’s been around a lot of great coaches. He’s a student of the game. There’s no doubt in my mind that when he has his opportunity he’s going to run with it.”

While at Oak Ridge, Steichen dreamed of being a college or NFL coach — and of being a good college quarterback. He passed for 34 touchdowns as an Oak Ridge senior in 2002, powering the Trojans to a 12-1 record and another Sac-Joaquin Section championship.

He landed at UNLV to play for famed coach John Robinson, becoming a starter his first season. A UNLV quarterback teammate was Scott Turner, son of longtime NFL coach Norv Turner, who would later give Steichen his first NFL gig with the San Diego Chargers when Turner was their head coach.

In a 2019 interview, Steichen said of Robinson, “He was phenomenal. When he recruited me, he came to my house. Shoot, I was a little 17-year-old, skinny kid — like I am now, still, I guess. I was like, ‘Shoot, John Robinson is in my house. This is pretty cool.’ I said, ‘Shoot, I’m going to go play for that guy.’”

Steichen got his first college coaching job at Louisville as an offensive assistant in 2010. Turner hired him with the Chargers in 2011 as a defensive assistant, of all roles. Steichen later became offensive coordinator with the Chargers and then landed his current job with the Eagles on Jan. 25, 2021. His smooth touch and delivery has helped quarterback Jalen Hurts have an MVP-like season.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, left, stands with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen during NFL football practice at Lincoln Financial Field, Friday, June 4, 2021, in Philadelphia. (Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, Pool)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, left, stands with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen during NFL football practice at Lincoln Financial Field, Friday, June 4, 2021, in Philadelphia. (Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, Pool)

Steichen is a finalist for the Associated Press Assistant Coach of the Year award. In that 2019 interview, Steichen recalled his golden opportunity in the NFL, saying, “Norv Turner gave me a chance. He said, ‘Hey, I have a job for you. It’s on defense, though.’ I said, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow.’ I was in Louisville. I got in my car and I drove across the country. I was fired up.”

One of Steichen’s high school teammates was Austin Collie, The Bee’s Player of the Decade, who starred at BYU and logged five NFL seasons as a receiver. He told Sports Illustrated of Steichen, “Football is a religion to him. There was no point where I wondered, ‘Hmm, I wonder what Shane is going to do (for a living).’”

Collie added, “I definitely think his approach to the game, I can tell you, it’s similar to the likes of Peyton Manning. Only because they both have a very unique passion for football. More unique than we’ve seen from other guys. From Day 1, I knew he was going to be someone in football. He has an understanding of the game that not many people have.”

Jones could sense it as well. The former Oak Ridge and Vista del Lago coach grew up a Chicago Bears fan and now follows any team Steichen coaches.

“I’ll be watching the NFC championship from home, kicking back, relaxing,” Jones said. “I’ve become closer and closer to what he’s doing and become a real fan. I’m just so impressed with him. You can see the growth and development of what the Eagles are doing and you can see Shane’s imprint. It’s fun to see and to talk to him about.”