Turf Show Times
As NFL continues to look for “the next Sean McVay, Rams have the original and best version
Oscar Wilde once said “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness” and that quote rings especially true of Los Angeles Rams leading man Sean McVay.
Franchises across the NFL are once again looking for “the next Sean McVay” while the original is at the height of his powers in LA. That gives the Rams the upper hand over what is fast becoming the majority of the league. McVay has excelled against his former understudies and that should bode well for LA’s chances as a contender in 2025 and beyond.
McVay’s Rams took down the Zac Taylor’s Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. Los Angeles found a way to win despite not getting much production on the ground and losing Odell Beckham, Jr. to injury early. Taylor got the better of McVay early in the 2023 season when the Bengals won 19-16 when the stakes were nowhere near as high.
This season the Rams took down Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings twice: once around mid-season followed by a total dismantling in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
There are plenty of other McVay disciples around the NFL, but one former understudy that has gotten the better of his former head coach is Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers.
LaFleur’s Packers beat the Rams in the divisional round of the 2020 playoffs just weeks before LA executed a trade to bring in Matthew Stafford and sent Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions. Stafford lost his first matchup against Green Bay in 2021 before going on to win the Super Bowl. LA also dropped matchups against the Packers in each of the last two years. Stafford did not play in the 2023 game and was replaced by Brett Rypien. Green Bay sent the Rams to a 1-4 record this year, and then they went on to make their improbably comeback to win the NFC West division.
This offseason we saw Liam Coen, who was a failed one-year offensive coordinator under McVay, take the head coaching job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley is a candidate for offensive coordinator openings for the Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and possibly others.
The rest of the NFL continues to attempt to emulate the success of the Rams and McVay, but Los Angeles will continue to be one step ahead for as long as they have the original version. McVay has went through several reinventions during his time with the franchise: making wholesale schematic changes when switching from Goff to Stafford, rethinking what used to be a primarily zone-based running game, and whatever tweaks come next to help the Rams become more explosive on the ground in 2025.
Hiring a McVay acolyte is a...
