UNLV head coach Dan Mullen named Adam Scheier as his special teams coordinator on Jan. 3, 2025.
Scheier brought 29 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Rebel program, including the last 25 working with special teams. He moved to Las Vegas after serving as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at Temple for the previous three seasons (2022-24).
In 2024, Scheier saw Owls kicker Maddux Trujillo named Second Team All-AAC and earn a place on the FBS All-ECAC Special Teams list. The senior was also named College Football Network Honorable Mention All-American, AAC Kicker of the Year and First Team CFN All-AAC. Trujillo capped off his college career with record-breaking performances, nailing a 64-yard field goal against Utah State, and a 60-yard field goal at UConn. Both conversions set new records for the longest field goal at the respective stadiums and were the two longest field goals in Temple history as Trujillo finished the season 5-for-8 from beyond 50 yards. In addition, Owl punter Dante Atton earned Third Team All-AAC honors from CFN.
In 2023, Temple return man Sam Martin was named Second Team All-AAC by Phil Steele after returning 27 kickoffs for 548 yards, including a 95-yard kick return touchdown against Tulsa.
In 2022 on the special teams side, punter Mackenzie Morgan landed on the Ray Guy Award watch list and scored a touchdown on a trick play. Kicker Camden Price, meanwhile, went 13-14 on field goal attempts, leading Temple in scoring with 57 points.
Before going to Temple, Scheier coached two seasons at Rutgers (2020-21) as the special teams coordinator. Under his guidance, the Scarlet Knights ranked seventh in the nation in the ESPN Special Teams Efficiency Ratings during his first season in 2020 and improved to No. 4 in 2021.
In 2021, Scheier’s Scarlet Knight units finished among the top 25 nationally in several categories while setting the NCAA single-season record in net punting average with 45.82 yards per attempt. Rutgers also ranked 12th in the country in yards allowed per return (2.93), 25th in punt return average (10.95) and 17th in kickoff return yard defense (17.58) to go along with a blocked punt and a punt return touchdown. Second Team All-American punter Adam Korsak was named a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, while he and long snapper Billy Taylor both earned First Team All-Big Ten honors.
In 2020, the Rutgers kick return units scored three touchdowns (two kickoff, one punt) to finish as one of four teams nationally to reach the mark and one of 10 teams in the country with both a kickoff and a punt return score. Additionally, the Scarlet Knights led the Big Ten with 25.73 yards per kickoff return, which ranked 16th in the nation.
Three special teamers received All-Big Ten honors during the 2020 campaign, led by first-team selection Aron Cruickshank, who earned the conference’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year and was Honorable Mention All-America as a kick returner by Phil Steele after tying for the national lead with two kickoff return touchdowns (100 yards at Purdue, 98 yards vs. Nebraska). Korsak was the other all-conference honoree, earning a second-team nod after he broke the school record with a net punt average of 42.3.
Scheier spent the 2019 season as senior special teams consultant at Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs earned a spot in the Music City Bowl.
In 2018, Scheier served as special teams coordinator at Texas Tech and merited a Broyles Award nomination as one of the country’s top assistant coaches. During his lone season in Lubbock, the Red Raiders were one of only three schools nationally that produced a semifinalist for both the Lou Groza Award and the Ray Guy Award. Kicker Clayton Hatfield was named First Team All-Big 12 with 106 points and ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.895). Punter Dominic Panazzolo, who booted 21 punts inside the 20-yard line, and returner De'Quan Bowman, who finished fourth in the country with 906 combined kick return yards, both earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12.
Prior to that, Scheier spent the 2017 season at Ohio State, where he served as a special teams quality control coach. In that role, he worked closely with head coach Urban Meyer on game-planning, scheme development, opponent scouting and personnel for a team that won the Big Ten Championship game and finished No. 5 in the AP Poll. The Buckeyes also ended the year among the nation’s best as they were ninth in the country in punting (first in the Big Ten), 10th in kickoff return defense (third in the Big Ten) and 17th in kickoff returns (second in the Big Ten). They produced All-Big Ten performers at three special teams positions as well, including kicker, punter and kickoff return specialist.
In the three years before going to Columbus, Scheier built several of the nation's top special teams at Wake Forest from 2014-16. During that period, the Demon Deacons ranked fourth nationally in net punting in 2014 and eighth in 2015, leading the ACC each of those two seasons, while also finishing 13th nationally in kickoff return defense in 2014. His punter Alex Kinal became a two-time semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award and left the program ranked fourth all-time in career punting (41.8 yards per punt).
Achieving similar success during his stint at Bowling Green from 2009-13, the Falcons regularly sat among the top special teams squads in the Mid-American Conference. During his five-year tenure, Bowling Green blocked 16 kicks, returned three kickoffs for a touchdown and added four more touchdowns via punts. In his final season, Bowling Green returned two punts for touchdowns as the Falcons led the MAC and ranked fourth nationally in punt return average. They were also the conference leader in kickoff return average, returning one for a touchdown, and landed 14th nationally in that category. Scheier tutored Falcon punter Brian Schmiedebusch to All-MAC honors in both 2011 and 2012. Schmiedebusch averaged 45.3 yards in 2011, ranking him fifth nationally and eighth in MAC history for a single season en route to earning a spot as a Ray Guy Award semifinalist.
Scheier began his coaching career shortly after a four-year playing career at Dartmouth, where he was named the Special Teams Player of the Year as a senior. He earned his degree in psychology from Dartmouth after his playing career concluded in 1995 and remained there coaching the secondary in 1996.
A year later, Scheier moved to Columbia to coach the strong safeties and outside linebackers for three seasons (1997-99), earning his master's degree in education from there in 1998.
Scheier and his wife, Erica, have three daughters -- Callie, Riley and Maddie -- and a son, Brady.
SCHEIER’S COACHING FILE
2025 UNLV – Special Teams Coordinator
2022-2024 Temple – Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends
2020-2021 Rutgers – Special Teams Coordinator
2019 Mississippi State – Senior Special Teams Consultant
2018 Texas Tech – Special Teams Coordinator
2017 Ohio State – Special Teams Quality Control
2014-2016 Wake Forest – Special Teams Coordinator, Tight Ends
2009-2013 Bowling Green – Special Teams Coordinator, Tight Ends
2005-2008 Lehigh – Special Teams Coordinator, Wide Receivers
2002-2004 Lehigh – Special Teams Coordinator, Running Backs
2000-2001 Princeton – Special Teams Coordinator, Wide Receivers
1997-99 Columbia – Safeties, Outside Linebackers
1996 Dartmouth – Secondary
