As the Los Angeles Rams hoisted the Lombardi trophy and celebrated their win in Super Bowl LVI, there appeared to be some uncertainty surrounding the team’s future. Both head coach Sean McVay and superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald had retirement rumors swirling around them.
McVay and Donald are two of the most crucial pieces to the Rams’ success since their move to Los Angeles. To see them both go would mark the end of an era, but rookie linebacker Ernest Jones sees a different path forward for the Rams.
Jones believes that despite the rumors, Donald and McVay will both return in 2022 to help the Rams defend their championship, Jones said on the Jim Rome Show:
“I 100% believe that,” Jones said of McVay and Donald returning. “We’re gonna run it back, everybody’s gonna do their best to keep this group together. I know the front office is gonna do their best because I know I sure as heck want AD back and all the guys. It’s gonna happen and we’re gonna make our run, try and do it again.”
This is not the first time fans have heard talks about running it back. Donald, McVay, and Von Miller all expressed their desire to do so at the Rams Super Bowl parade. However, there remains plenty of time between now and when these decisions have to get made.
For McVay though, he has already confirmed he will be back in 2022 despite TV networks chasing after him.
If Donald, McVay, and Miller all return the way Jones believes they will, it will likely be on new — and much more lucrative — contracts. Rumors state that Donald wants to be the highest-paid defensive player again, as he made $6 million less than 2021 DPOY T.J. Watt during this Super Bowl season.
Miller, a free agent, now has significant leverage to ask for a high-paying deal. He was absolutely essential to the Rams’ postseason success and proved that he is not far from a prime that placed him among the league’s defensive greats.
The Rams have plenty of crucial conversations ahead of them, but if Jones feels this confident about the end result, it’s possible some decisions have already been made.
Rams reportedly naming Coen OC
With the loss of Kevin O’Connell to the Minnesota Vikings, the Super Bowl champions have a huge hole at the offensive coordinator position. While nothing has been officially announced, it has been reported that Liam Coen is going to land the job.
Coen spent multiple years with McVay and the Rams as an assistant wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach, but spent 2021 as the offensive coordinator for the Kentucky Wildcats at the collegiate level.
