Aside from watching the Los Angeles Rams play the Dallas Cowboys in Hawaii, fans were also treated to some commentary by head coach Sean McVay himself in paradise.
With the third quarter winding down, McVay joined the broadcast booth to discuss the state of the team heading into the 2019 NFL season. He even obliged by doing some brief play-by-play.
Although he was not on for very long, his appearance generated plenty of buzz on social media. It appears McVay had just as much fun showing off his broadcasting chops.
According to Stu Jackson of the team’s official website, McVay made it clear that while he enjoyed his appearance, it is not something he would prefer to do in the regular season:
“I thought it was fun,” McVay said during a conference call with beat reporters on Sunday. “I think it would be something I would only do during preseason games. I think I’m a little bit more relaxed – I don’t know if relaxed is the right word — but I’d probably be a little more pleasant to talk to during a preseason game.”
McVay’s comments are certainly understandable given there is little at stake during the preseason. Although his charisma and football intellect make him an ideal fit for TV in the preseason, he admits that those qualities would take a backseat to his intense persona during a real game:
“When it’s a regular season game, I think you guys would quickly realize, ‘We don’t want to do this ‘Coach’s Cam’ with this guy. He’s a maniac.’”
There is no denying that McVay has the gravitas to transition from an entertaining commentator to a shrewd football coach. Perhaps one day he will make the full transition to the broadcast booth, however, it is safe to say that it will not be any time soon.
The Rams caught plenty of flak for making McVay the youngest head coach in the modern era. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to silence the doubters by leading the offense from worst-to-first in his debut season and following it up with an appearance in Super Bowl LIII in 2018.
It took only two seasons for the rest of the league to follow the trend by scouring the market for young, offensive-minded coaches to help turn their franchises around. Regardless, they would be far-fetched to find one with as versatile a skill set as McVay does when it comes to both coaching football and making TV appearances.
