Sean McVay often talks about focusing on the present and not looking too far ahead, which is sage advice for a 34-year-old. But he can’t help but think about his future as a coach and how long his time in the league might last.
Despite being the youngest coach in the NFL still, he’s as dedicated as anyone and works tirelessly to not only improve himself, but also to better the Rams as a team. And while he hopes to be coaching for at least another 10 years in L.A., he does worry about burning himself out.
McVay appeared on Albert Breer’s MMQB NFL Podcast this week and was asked where he thinks he’ll be in 10-15 years.
“That’s a good question. Hopefully still with the Rams unless I’ve gotten myself so worked up that I wasn’t feeling good enough to still coach,” McVay said.
Breer quickly responded by asking if burning out is something the coach has to worry about, since that’s something he’s heard about McVay before.
“Yeah, absolutely it is,” McVay said. “That’s something that I do need to be aware of because if you’re not careful – I just know the way that I’m going at it, you’re like, realistically, this isn’t the right way to do it, but you’re such a grinder and it’s kind of being able to step back, being still is going to be a key thing. And I am confident that we’ll be able to achieve a better balance and will lead to more sustainability moving forward.”
McVay has been forced to slow down a little bit this offseason because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Rams’ facility was closed for most of the offseason until recently, causing McVay to work from home. He’s still been putting in plenty of hours and work, but there’s only so much he can do without being on the practice field with players or in meeting rooms with his coaches.
As McVay has grown as a coach in the last three years, he’s learned the importance of having a work-life balance. That will become even more apparent in the future, too, after he gets married and starts a family.
“The other thing, too, is what I’ve really seen from a lot of my close friends, once you get into that point where, hey, I’m gonna get married next year, obviously want to be able to have kids. That perspective of, all right, now you’ve got a real reason to live when you’ve got a family, you’ve got something else,” he said. “I think that balance and that appreciation for those things where it’s not just all football will help toward a goal of just being able to sustain and be healthier overall.”
Currently, McVay is under contract with the Rams through the 2023 season – one year less than Jared Goff is signed for. Unless things go seriously wrong in the next four years, it’s hard to imagine the Rams firing McVay anytime soon.
With the way he’s helped completely turn around a franchise that couldn’t get above the .500 mark for a decade, he deserves to be around for the duration of his contract. Beyond that, the Rams might have to worry about burnout more than him failing to keep up his winning ways.