4 years ago, the Rams returned to relevance by taking a chance on 30-year-old Sean McVay

The Rams hired Sean McVay 4 years ago today, and it couldn’t have been a better decision.

From 2005 to 2016, the Rams cycled through seven different head coaches, both of the permanent and interim variety. They never finished above .500 in any of those 12 years, never made the playoffs and never had a positive points differential. The offense finished outside the top 20 in 10 straight seasons, causing the Rams to become one of the most futile franchises anywhere in the NFL.

Then they came upon a 30-year-old wunderkind who changed everything. That wunderkind, of course, was Sean McVay.

Four years ago today, on January 12, 2017, the Rams hired McVay as their next head coach, taking a chance on a guy with a bright future but also plenty of questions to answer. As the youngest head coach in NFL history, how would he lead a locker room full of veterans, some of which were older than McVay?

It didn’t take long for McVay to prove the Rams right for handing him the keys to the team. In each of the last four years, the Rams have finished above .500 – the first time they’ve had four consecutive winning seasons since 1983-1986. They’ve made the playoffs in three of those four seasons, reached one Super Bowl and have had a top-11 offense each year McVay has been at the helm.

It’s safe to say the Rams have returned to relevance and most of that has to do with the arrival of McVay. Here’s what Rams owner Stan Kroenke said about McVay when the hire was made.

“This is an exciting day for the Los Angeles Rams as we welcome Sean McVay as our new head coach. The accomplishments and success that he has rendered in less than a decade in our league are remarkable. I am confident in his vision to make this team a consistent winner and to ultimately bring a Super Bowl title home to Los Angeles.”

But not everyone was thrilled with the Rams’ decision to hire an unproven 30-year-old as their next head coach. A lot of fans liked the move, but there was also a large portion of the fanbase that once again questioned the front office.

Those tweets didn’t age well, now did they?

To be fair, there was so much uncertainty with McVay that it was understandable to be skeptical. There had never been a head coach as young as McVay in NFL history, he was tasked with developing Jared Goff after a disastrous rookie year and as an offensive guru, there were questions about how the defense would improve under his guidance.

But in the last four years, McVay has passed every test with flying colors, already earning a contract extension from the Rams. And deservedly so. His 43 wins and 21 losses since 2017 represent the fourth-best record in the NFL in that span, with only the Saints, Chiefs and Ravens boasting better winning percentages.

So yes, there were questions about whether McVay could make it as a head coach. But there are no longer any skeptics left. And it’s impossible to ignore the recent trend in the NFL with teams hiring young head coaches after seeing how much success the Rams have had under McVay.

Matt LaFleur, Kliff Kingsbury and Zac Taylor all had some kind of connection to McVay before being hired, and Brandon Staley could be next in line to earn a head coaching gig. McVay had a ripple effect that spread beyond just Los Angeles.

He was one of the best moves the franchise has ever made, and that becomes more and more evident by the day.