Rams Coach Sean McVay ‘Beautiful Challenge’? He’s Not Quitting
Patience is a virtue and that was the case for anyone pondering the future of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.
But on Friday, McVay finished his own pondering. He’s staying with the Rams … and a glance back at his recent public reflections help explain why.
The short-and-bittersweet version?
The soul-searching,” he said, “is a beautiful challenge.”
Recently offering his public comments (that led to his decision) before the Rams went their separate ways for the offseason, McVay responded to the scrutiny and questions around his continued wearing of the team's top headset by claiming he'd at least "a couple (of) days" to ponder.
His final answers of the woebegone 2022-23 campaign centered primarily on that decision after a brief opening to acknowledge that defender Russ Yeast was back with the team after he was hospitalized due to a chest injury sustained in Sunday's Seattle-based finale.
“I don't want to put a timeline on it. I think what I'd like to do is be able to take the appropriate time," McVay said. "You don't want to rush into any sort of decision. There's a lot of emotion right after the season. There's a lot of layers to this. There's a lot of people that it does affect that I don't take lightly and want to be mindful of and so I'm going to take the next couple days to really be able to kind of reflect.
"A lot of conversations with various people that will dictate and determine the decision that's best for me, my family, the Rams, and a lot of people," McVay continued, hinting that his wife Veronika and parents Cindy and Tim will be major sources of conversation. "That's kind of where we're at with that.”
Has McVay opted to move on, he'd have left Los Angeles as the third-winningest head coach in franchise history with 60 triumphs over six seasons at the helm. Having headlined the second Southern California incarnation since 2017, McVay is also the Rams' all-time leader in postseason victories at seven, four of which came last winter en route to Super Bowl LVII.
Despite the aura of uncertainty that surrounded his future, the 36-year-old referred to the situation as a "beautiful challenge” … a situation where he's considered not only his own feelings but the mindsets of those around him as well.
"The consistent conversations and dialogues that have existed with the people that I love and really care about, ‘Hey, do what you think is best for you and Veronika,'" McVay continued. "But that doesn't mean it takes away the empathy, the level of responsibility that I do feel for the people that would be affected as it relates to my decision moving forward.”
McVay, whose interests in broadcasting have reportedly not been subtle, expressed no regrets and "wouldn't change any part" of his time with the Rams, even as the team slogged through a brutal Super Bowl defense
"I wouldn't change any part of this," he said. "but the ultimate thing is you want to make sure that you make a decision that is in the best interest of everybody that this platform provides (for) and that you're so fortunate to be able to have a positive influence on (and) that you're capable of doing it at the level that you want to and that's really as simple as it gets.
"I think in terms of just some of the different dynamics of making sure that this joy, this zest, this ability to be able to do the things at the level that you know you're capable of, how do you not let the challenges and the grind and the competitor in you… how do you not let that change the dynamic of who you want to be as a leader in those types of things? That's kind of where I'm at.”
And now where McVay is also at is … working as the coach of the Rams.
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