Following his worst season record-wise as a head coach, Sean McVay looked like he finally might walk away from the Los Angeles Rams.
McVay has been open about his desire to pursue an off-field career in broadcasting, but the toll of the 2022 season sparked rumors that he could decide to walk away from football altogether. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been a permanent retirement, but McVay was clearly showing signs of burnout after seeing the Rams flame out last season.
Los Angeles’ brass gave McVay all the space he needed to make the best decision for himself and in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager revealed that the head coach was considering stepping away for a year and the organization would have allowed it:
“I think…I don’t know about the Amazon role even being available, so I wouldn’t say the Amazon thing. But I think he thought long and hard and I think that– I thought based on conversations with him –and we’re talking daily– that he was gonna take a couple weeks, maybe a month to figure out what he was gonna do. And the Rams were giving him that space and they said if you need a year off to clear your head and come back, that’s fine. Like, the Rams were awesome about it.
“But honestly, he was calling everybody and he was trying to get everyone’s thoughts. And at the end of the day like, I don’t think he was gonna do that to Matthew Stafford, I don’t think he was going to do that to Cooper Kupp. And he didn’t need the full year away. No one was pushing him to do that, but he was considering it.”
At 37 years old, McVay remains the youngest head coach in the NFL but after several playoff runs and a couple of Super Bowl appearances, he’s coached his fair share of games. The sprint that L.A.’s been on to compete the past several years would wear on anyone, so it shouldn’t be surprising that McVay would be considering leaving to recharge.
However, the Rams are fortunate he will be returning for the 2023 season at the very least as they’ll need him to reestablish their winning ways. Los Angeles has been open about taking a step back this upcoming season to move forward in the future, so McVay will have to find a way to come together with the players and staff to rebuild their foundation.
