Rams' McVay Dishes on Stafford, Jared Verse and More

Rams head coach Sean McVay on Wednesday’s edition of Good Morning Football addressed several topics, from the team’s minicamp next week in Maui, Hawaii, to organizational discussions this past offseason on Aaron Rodgers. Here’s Part 2 of the full interview

On Lil Wayne using McVay’s name in lyrics to Welcome to Tha Carter, on his latest album, Tha Carter VI: “Man, I will tell you this: I was like, ‘That is dope.’ … Hey, so you’ll love this: So, I got a bunch of texts from our guys, when the album dropped last week. And so, I lean over and, my wife is the best; she's so supportive. But she always keeps me humble. I said, ‘Hey, Babe … I think Wayne made a reference to us in his new album.’ She's like, ‘He's talking about another McVay; he’s not talking about you.’”

On Davante Adams’ quotes with regard to everyone in the Rams’ facility always in a good mood, no dark clouds, and focus on football without BS: “Well, that means everything … but I love this guy. We work as hard as we possibly can to create an atmosphere and environment where guys feel that way. And it is about the collective. I mean, you become the company you keep. When you have players like Davante and all these other great teammates or guys we've mentioned or a great coaching staff, our goal as coaches is to make sure when these guys leave the building, they're excited about coming back the next day. How can we push the standard, have high standards for the expectations, but also an enjoyment with a sense of urgency. And if we're able to kind of find that balance, that's what we're hunting up every day. It means everything to hear him say that.”

On Jared Verse, his infectious personality, his on-field ability, and challenging Aaron Donald to a workout competition: “I love this guy, too. But that's who he is consistently. And he brings it, he's not afraid to talk, he's got an edge and an energy to him that I think is absolutely necessary, but he's also got the appropriate humility. I enjoyed getting a FaceTime last week from Aaron Donald at his house. He's got his shirt off, jacked. You could see he was just finishing a workout. He pans to the corner, and Verse is in the corner just shaking his head like, ‘What the hell was I thinking, coming over and challenging him?’ But he accepted the challenge. He said, ‘I'm done challenging legends, though.’ But I love the guy, man. I'm right there with you, Kyle (Brandt). This dude is, he's a special human, and he's going to be a special player for a long time if he continues to work the way he does.”

On what the Rams will do in 2025 to avoid another 1-4 start like last season: “I think for us, you just want to stack good days. I think it's been a good offseason. There's only so much you can get done just based on some of the parameters at which we can practice. But when we get a chance to get through the acclimation period, you put the pads on, you keep coming together as a team, you start to establish the identity and style of play, and then you really pray that you stay healthy. Last year, we were really banged up going into the season. We got decimated in that first game against Detroit. No excuses, but I think it's just stacking good days.

“You hope that you do everything in your power to stay healthy, and then whenever we do have the storms that are inevitable, let's handle them the right way because that'll be a separator for us. But we do want to be able to start fast. Ultimately, I want to see our guys just be able to respond to the inevitable adversity that's, that's going to be there in some form or fashion, and how we handle it is usually the separator.”

On his personal preference among three Hawaii staples, 1) surfing, 2) Mai Tais and 3) luaus, where they rank for him: “Yeah, I can appreciate the surfing. That's last for me. I'd probably go Mai Tais 1, to be able to find my personality and an appetite, and we'll go luau 2.”

On photographers finding him on a beach somewhere in the world: “Uh, we stay away from those places. They don't want that.”

On Aaron Rodgers, whether there was genuine interest in bringing him to the Rams: “Yeah, I think that our first priority, which was consistently communicated, was, ‘Hey, let's work something out with Matthew,’ and we were very fortunate that it worked out that way. If that wasn't able to occur, then that was definitely a conversation and a possibility for us. I have a ton of respect for the body of work, and I've gotten to know Aaron and really enjoy the conversations and just the, the approach, the way that he thinks about the game and in life. And so, that was a possibility, but our first priority was always to be able to get Matthew back. And what I do feel really fortunate about is I think that we're closer than ever. And I think sometimes when you're able to have real conversations, I think you can appreciate the love that's been built up, but also the ability to be honest with one another and I'm really glad that worked out. And shoot, I know that there's a lot of people in Pittsburgh that are really excited that that's finally come to fruition and I'm a big fan of his.”

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