The Rams, Jimmy Garoppolo and the McVay-Shanahan Feud. A Potential New Chapter?

There is this odd triangle of competitive rivalry, perceived hatred and pure disdain between Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo and their respective organizations. Shanahan and McVay know each other from their time with Washington under Mike Shanahan, the two teams they coach hate each other, and Garoppolo has played with both of them.

McVay was hired by the Rams and Shanahan was hired by the 49ers in 2017. McVay gained the upper hand early but Shanahan came storming back to end the 2010s and to start the 2020s. Garoppolo was Shanahan's first major QB acquisition and he was incredible, winning the first five starts to close out the 2017 season.

McVay went to a Super Bowl with Jared Goff in 2019 and lost. Goff's performance paved the way for the Rams to trade him and several picks for Matthew Stafford. Shanahan went to the Super Bowl in 2020 with Garoppolo and lost. Garoppolo's performance paved the way for the 49ers to trade up to select Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft.

While Goff was gone from the Rams, Garoppolo remained on the 49ers and was essentially treated as a pariah by Shanahan. Lance turned out to be a bust and Garoppolo would lead the 49ers over the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFC playoffs, eventually losing to McVay, Stafford and the Rams in the NFC title game.

Fast forward to today, Garoppolo could be the heir apparent to Stafford if Stafford departs and while Garoppolo would require the Rams to reinvent their offense, he looked way better than he should in the season-finale against the Seahawks.

Considering Garoppolo likely has very negative feelings towards Shanahan, McVay's and Shanahan's professional rivalry and the hatred shared between the two franchises, we could be on the verge of one of the most intriguing storylines of the year.

49ers QB Brock Purdy has been fantastic in his three seasons as a professional but his extension is due soon. Jimmy Garoppolo and Purdy had the same amount of team success under Shanahan, but Garoppolo was being paid as a top QB while Purdy and the team have had the luxury of playing on his seventh-round contract.

If Garoppolo leads the Rams over the 49ers, it could deliver a crushing blow to San Francisco that the franchise may never recover from under Shanahan. If Shanahan wins, he gets to prove he's the smartest man in the room.

When notoriety and bragging rights are on the line, teams get up for the occasion, leading to hard hitting football. While the Rams would be perceived to have the inferior QB in that scenario, let's not forget Garoppolo walked into a win and in game at Seattle for the number one seed and won.

Garoppolo walked into the frozen tundra against the reigning Super Bowl MVP and won.

If not for butterfingers by Jaquiski Tartt, Garoppolo likely beats the Rams in the NFC title game. While Garoppolo may not be able to make the throw when it counts, he has made a lot of throws worth something and considering the Rams have a top defense, he may not need to make that throw at all.

Or maybe the reason Garoppolo hasn't been able to make that throw is because he didn't have a coach like Sean McVay? Like I said, Garoppolo looked a lot better than he should have in the 2024 regular season finale.

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