Sean McVay informs Rams he will return to coach seventh season
Sean McVay said after the Rams’ lost season that he would take time to reflect on his coaching future and whether he would return in 2023.
He said he would not rush the decision. And the Rams told him no hurry, take all the time needed.
McVay required four days.
On Friday, McVay told the Rams he would be back for a seventh season, the team announced.
“Sean McVay informed the team he is excited to return next season,” the Rams tweeted.
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McVay guided the Rams to a Super Bowl title last season and then suffered through a 5-12 campaign in 2022.
McVay, who will turn 37 on Jan. 24, has been the Rams coach since 2017, when owner Stan Kroenke made the then-30-year-old McVay the youngest coach in modern NFL history.
Last spring, after flirting with offers to join broadcast networks, McVay received an extension that made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches. He remains under contract for several years.
McVay led the Rams to the playoffs four times and two Super Bowl appearances in his first six seasons, winning Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
This season, however, the Rams nosedived to the worst finish by a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history.
McVay has a 60-38 regular-season record and is 7-3 in the playoffs.
On Monday, McVay described his passion for coaching and the way he goes about it as “a beautiful torment.” He said his desire to reflect on whether to step away had been building over time.
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“This has been years,” he said. “This is not a new thing.”
After the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl, McVay received overtures to take a break from coaching and transition to broadcasting. Networks reportedly would have paid him tens of millions annually, but the extension soon followed.
Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, said Thursday there was no deadline for McVay to inform the team of his decision.
If McVay had stepped away, the Rams had “contingency plans in a situation like this that will be ready to be enacted,” Demoff said.
Now they will not need them.
McVay’s staff, however, will change.
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Offensive coordinator Liam Coen left the day after the season-ending loss to the Seattle Seahawks to return to Kentucky as the offensive coordinator and play-caller.
This week, McVay reportedly told assistant coaches that he would not stand in their way of seeking other opportunities.
Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris interviewed to become coach of the Indianapolis Colts on Friday and also is scheduled to be interviewed by the Denver Broncos. Associate head coach Thomas Brown also is scheduled to interview with several teams.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has said he would return to the Rams for a 15th NFL season regardless of whether McVay is the coach.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, has said he would play as long as McVay was the coach. Donald has not spoken with reporters since sitting out a Dec. 4 game against Seattle because of a season-ending ankle injury.
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