Over the last couple of offseasons, there were a lot of conversations about the possibility of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay retiring. Considering he is one of the youngest coaches in the NFL, and one of the best, that idea seemed preposterous, but it was a very real possibility.
Of course McVay would stick around and despite most believing the Rams would be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year, they would surprise everyone by making the playoffs and put up a great fight against the Detroit Lions.
Ultimately the Rams came up short, falling 24-23 in Detroit, but McVay was extremely proud of his team and even credited them with helping him find himself as a coach again.
“Thought we had our chances, but I’m so proud of this football team,” McVay said after teh loss. “You know the finality of it is still…it doesn’t totally resonate, but man did I learn a lot, and really appreciate this group. You know, they…they helped me find my way again, and how much I love this.”
The previous couple of seasons have seen the Rams have extremely high expectations with a team full of talented, high-paid players. But this year’s team was a set of underdogs and barely known players and a team like that can remind someone of just why they got into coaching in the first place.
For McVay, this Rams team was exactly what he needed and even with the loss, he feels the Rams can use this to grow going into next year. “I think you gotta use it the right way, but I think our guys also know that…every single year you reset,” McVay added.
“You want to continue to grow, gotta do a great job of who want to be able to move forward with, who we want to onboard, I think that was a key factor for why we were able to get back to, you know, get back to doing some of the decent things that we were able to do.
“But it’s all about the right people…so I think right now what I want to make sure is is that these guys feel the appreciation on my end for what they did, and…tonight was tough, but like I said, ton of respect for Dan Campbell and that, that team, they came out they were ready to go, and you see why they’ve won 13 games this year.”
The Rams now have a foundation to build upon for the coming years and it sounds as if there are no more questions about McVay sticking around to grow with them.
Rams coach Sean McVay ‘grateful’ for relationship with Bill Belichick
McVay also has his share of mentors that have helped him throughout his career, one of which is former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. With news of Belichick’s time with the Patriots coming to an end, the Rams coach spoke on their relationship, noting how grateful he is for the information Belichick was willing to share with him.
“But we got connected and I was just so grateful for how willing and open he was when we first ended up spending some time together,” McVay noted. “There was obviously a lot of respect on my end, but there was just a willingness to share and to answer questions and provide a perspective that nobody but him really can provide and so that was something that I always appreciate and he’s been consistent with that throughout.
