One NFL Coach Doesn't Believe Rams' Sean McVay Is a Top-Five Play-Caller

Ever since Sean McVay joined the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, he’s been considered one of the NFL’s best offensive coaches. While some offensive coaches prefer to delegate play-calling duties to another coach, it’s something that McVay has been adamant about keeping. He’s allowed offensive coordinators to have a say in the game plan and play a role in the play-calling process, but outside of one game in 2022, McVay has preferred to call every game.

Over the last three seasons, the Rams have ranked first, tenth, and seventh in offensive DVOA. Meanwhile, they’ve ranked sixth in EPA per play over that entire timespan. The Rams have had a consistent offense, but McVay rarely tops the list in best offensive play-callers.

Sean McVay Earns High Praise From NFL Defensive Coaches

The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen recently polled NFL defensive coordinators around the league to come up with a ranking of the best play-callers. Coming in at number two behind Kyle Shanahan was McVay.

“He has a really good feel for the inflow mechanics of how the game is going and not necessarily coming up with something new that you haven’t seen before,” said one NFC defensive coordinator. “It might be a different formation or just getting you in space in a different way and forcing you to do some things that you don’t want to do.”

Nguyen polled eight defensive play-callers and defensive assistant coaches from around the league. While McVay’s highest ranking in the poll was number one, another defensive coach ranked him sixth.

An argument can certainly be made that McVay is the NFL's top play-caller alongside Shanahan. However, at a bare minimum, McVay should be ranked inside everyone’s top three. It seems ridiculous to rank a coach with McVay’s resume outside the top five.

It's also easy to see McVay's influence around the league. While McVay himself is ranked second, Matt LaFleur came fourth and Liam Coen fifth. Both coaches are former Rams offensive coordinators under McVay.

McVay certainly gets some criticism for his play-calling, but many of the narratives are overplayed. That’s not to say he’s perfect and doesn’t have his faults. However, that can be said about most offensive play-callers.

McVay's Ability to Adapt Sets Him Apart

Last season, the Rams completely shifted their offensive identity, going from an 11 personnel team to a 13 personnel team. That was something that was implemented midseason, which isn’t something seen very often. The Rams hadn’t practiced that at all during training camp. It’s a testament to McVay’s ability to adjust on the fly, install and teach a system, and his overall play-calling ability.

Despite going into his 10th season, McVay has shown the ability to adjust. Early in his career, the Rams were a wide zone team that ran play action off of it. The Rams then adapted to a team that operated primarily out of empty with Matthew Stafford. When the Rams couldn’t run the ball, McVay installed an entirely new run scheme, becoming more of a gap/duo team. Now, the Rams are moving from 11 personnel to utilizing more tight ends.

It’s part of what makes McVay so unpredictable. His ability to adjust to what defenses are doing and anticipate how they’ll match is part of what makes him elite. After a decade of dominance, there’s no doubt that McVay deserves a spot among the top play-callers.

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