  The current generation of covariant mean-field models has had many successes
in calculations of bulk observables for medium to heavy nuclei, but there
remain many open questions. New challenges are confronted when trying to
systematically extend these models to reliably address nuclear structure
physics away from the line of stability. In this lecture, we discuss a
framework for the next generation of relativistic models that can address these
questions and challenges. We interpret nuclear mean-field approaches as
approximate implementations of Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT), which
is widely used in condensed matter and quantum chemistry applications. We look
to effective field theory (EFT) for a systematic approach to low-energy nuclear
physics that can provide the framework for nuclear DFT.
