Sean McVay has been one of the best head coaches in the NFL for a while. He’s won more than 60% of his games, made the postseason six times in eight seasons, appeared in two Super Bowls and won one.
And now, as he enters his ninth year with the Los Angeles Rams, McVay remains one of the top leaders in the league. Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman ranked McVay as the third-best head coach in the NFL behind only Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs) and Sean Payton (Denver Broncos) — men with 26 and 17 years of head coach experience under their belts.
“McVay is known as an offensive mastermind, but his adjustments to his rushing attack may be his most impressive feat yet,” Wasserman wrote. “McVay is a Shanahan disciple, which makes him fluent in outside-zone run schemes. From 2017 to 2022, the Rams ranked second in outside-zone rate. Over the past two seasons, however, they rank just 15th in that category while leading the NFL with their usage of man run schemes. That newfound downhill approach has allowed Los Angeles to sustain the offensive balance needed to be a Super Bowl contender.”
McVay’s ability to adapt to the NFL and his own roster is one of the key testaments to his success. He’s navigated two major quarterback changes (Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford), the loss of a legend in defensive tackle Aaron Donald and quickly pivoting from massive trades for veterans to smart draft selections in the later rounds.
This is why the Rams have had so much staying power under McVay despite situational changes. And so long as McVay is in charge, the team should continue to be a contender in the league.
His next challenge will be building the team around a quarterback who isn’t Stafford, which could come as soon as next season.