Tag: Sean McVay

Sean McVay has only been an NFL head coach for three years, but he’s already getting calls about transitioning to the broadcast booth. According to the New York Post, ESPN spoke to McVay about being an analyst on “Monday Night Football.”

Andrew Marchand of The Post reports “ESPN executives think McVay could be a standout in the booth, somewhat like Jon Gruden” – which is fitting because McVay hails from Gruden’s coaching tree.

McVay hasn’t expressed any interest in leaving coaching for a broadcasting job, but the conversation was left at ESPN being interested in bringing the 34-year-old coach to the booth if he left the sidelines.

The Rams signed McVay to an extension last offseason after he reached the Super Bowl in his second season at the helm, keeping him in Los Angeles through 2023. As one of the brightest young minds in the game, the Rams have struck gold with McVay leading the team.

During Super Bowl LIV this year, McVay did do some broadcasting work. He was on ESPN’s “Postseason NFL Countdown” before kickoff, a four-hour pregame show ahead of the Super Bowl.

He clearly has the intelligence and charisma to be a broadcaster one day, but Rams fans have to hope that day doesn’t come anytime soon.

One of the concerns that’s been brought up countless times when discussing playing the NFL season during the coronavirus pandemic is the possibility of a star quarterback contracting the virus and landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list. If that were to happen in-season, it would be a significant blow for the team forced to play with a backup quarterback.

But what if the head coach or a play-caller gets the coronavirus and can’t be on the sidelines? That could be even worse for the team because simply replacing a head coach isn’t exactly an easy task.

The Rams have gone through scenarios if Sean McVay or any of his key assistants were to get the coronavirus and miss time, but the team is also taking precautions to avoid coaches from the same groups being too close together.

“It is absolutely something we’ve talked about. And you know, the natural kind of trajectory with the offense and the defense, because you have more numbers, where we’ve really had to be intentional, God forbid, if Coach (John) Bonamego or (assistant special teams coach) Tory Woodbury ended up getting sick, because you only have two guys allocated to your special teams,” McVay said on a conference call Sunday. “So, we’ve kind of had some guys that are allocated to each phase. You know you look at Kevin O’Connell and (assistant quarterbacks coach) Liam Coen, that are working closely with the quarterbacks, making sure those two are never too close to one another. So, it is a very real thing.”

The Rams are already in a difficult spot due to the amount of turnover they had on their coaching staff this offseason. They replaced Wade Phillips with first-year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, hired Bonamego to take over for John Fassel on special teams, and brought in O’Connell to work with the offense.

They also have a new running backs coach, Thomas Brown, and other new assistants throughout the staff. Losing any of them would hurt the team as a whole, but especially if McVay were to test positive.

“I think the most important thing is, for us, to make sure that in the building, out of the building, we’re making sure that our actions are in alignment to risk mitigate as much as possible. Certain things come up, but those are scenarios,” he continued. “Now, what are the parameters around if that does come up? What can you do? I think we’ll try to make sure that we avoid it, but if it does come up, I would certainly like to stay engaged in any way possible, but I’m not going down that negative route right now. But if we had to get on this Zoom and I’m yelling through an iPhone and somebody is holding it up, you know, maybe that’ll happen. We’ve learned a lot more about technology these last couple months then I think we would have ever learned otherwise. So, I think we’d have to demonstrate some agility, no doubt about it.”

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Sean McVay is a big proponent of community work, often talking about the good his players do in the community. That’s been on full display this offseason with pandemic relief causes and the fight for social justice, and McVay is doing his part in the community, too.

The Rams announced Friday that McVay donated $25,000 to the Play Equity Fund, which supports kids in under-sourced communities who do not have access to equipment for recreational activities.

McVay’s donation was used to buy footballs, jump ropes and other outdoor equipments for students.

“I am proud to partner with the LA84 Foundation and the Play Equity Fund, which was founded on the belief that play is a human right for children,” McVay said in a statement. “Sadly, nearly one million children in Los Angeles live in poverty and because of that, many kids don’t have access to sports and structured play. Through this donation, I’m happy to provide the gift of sports and enable kids to get healthy and active while having fun.”

According to the release, the equipment will be distributed at multiple recreational facilities throughout the Los Angeles area.

Training camp this year will look very different for all 32 teams across the league due to the restrictions put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic. Teams have already begun trimming their rosters from the usual 90 players to only 80, while practices have been pushed back compared to their usual start times in years past.

For the Rams, they have yet to take the field or even hold any team meetings at the facility after last week was used to get players tested for COVID-19 and acclimated to the protocols that come with entering the building at Cal Lutheran.

Camp was originally supposed to start on July 28, but the Rams have pushed back that date a bit and won’t practice fully for a couple of weeks. Sean McVay laid out the plan on a conference call with reporters Sunday, explaining how the Rams will ramp up in the near future.

“We have August 3rd through the 7th for those first five days, we will be off, and then we will finish it up on the 9th, 10th, and 11th. Then we will actually give our guys off on the 12th as well. So, you’re talking about the 13th is really the first opportunity, and that’s when that ‘ramp-up’ phase starts,” he said. “We’ll be limited in a Phase 2-type of setting, where they still can’t go against one another. So for us, August 17th is really going to represent the first true practice where guys are going against one another outside of a walk-thru setting. Then we’ll do a great job with Reggie (Scott) and his group, and (strength coach) Justin Lovett, and our strength staff of making sure we get the right physical assessment so we’re not pushing guys too early.”

The Rams won’t have a preseason to work through or any practices against other teams, but they do plan to scrimmage a few times at SoFi Stadium to give backups and reserves fighting for roster spots the chance to showcase their abilities as they would have in the preseason.

Just don’t expect to see the starters participating much (if at all) in those scrimmages.

“I think with some of those guys that would typically be playing a lot of the reps in preseason games, we’ll look in to maybe tackling and playing some full-speed football,” McVay said. We still want to be mindful of the guys we’re really counting on to be core starters on September 13 against the Cowboys.”

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Sean McVay was understandably skeptical about playing football during the coronavirus pandemic when he was asked about it in mid-June, questioning how players will practice social distancing while still playing as they normally would. He had a hard time wrapping his head around that plan, but his mindset has since changed.

On a conference call with reporters Sunday, McVay expressed more optimism about the NFL’s chances of playing this season amid the pandemic, coming around to the idea of games taking place as scheduled.

So what’s changed in the last month and a half? He’s been educated more on the league’s plan and believes daily testing will help keep things under control.

“I feel a lot better now having a little bit more knowledge and understanding of it – it’s really about the risk mitigation. Keeping our ecosystem clear on that front. I think there is a level of responsibility that coaches, players and everybody in our building will have outside of the ecosystem to make sure there is a consideration. It’s not just about what you’re doing here – it’s about understanding how important the ramifications can be if you make bad decisions outside of that with who you’re exposed to,” he said. “It’s about educating our guys on how they can risk-mitigate – wearing masks, social distancing when appropriate, washing your hands. But, with the testing being every day, especially with the first couple of weeks, I think you can really establish a good ecosystem and identify possible people that if they do test positive – let’s get them out of there. Let’s allow them to recover and return whenever is appropriate based on the parameters that the league has set.”

Rams players have all reported to the team’s facility for the first round of testing. Players who have three negative tests are permitted to collect their equipment and remain in the building. The Rams have only placed two players on the reserve/COVID-19 – Michael Hoecht and Terrell Lewis – but one, Hoecht, has already been activated and added back to the roster.

McVay isn’t sure when Lewis will be activated to the roster, but he said the Rams will “anxiously await his return whenever he checks all the boxes” and clears the protocol.

As for the other players, they’ll proceed as planned and will continue to practice things that limit the risk of exposure – both in the building and outside the facility.

“We’re still going to play football. I think there is a better understanding of how we apply those risk-mitigation practices. I made the comment about social distancing – we’re not going to do that on the field, but in those meeting settings when you can do that and you’re wearing your masks, those are the times we’re going to do that,” McVay said. “I think it is a fine balance of making sure you’re not speaking out of both sides of your mouth, so we can educate our guys, but not make them afraid to go compete and play football. I think that comes from the trust that the ecosystem is right, so that they can feel comfortable to do that.”

Several players across the NFL have decided to opt out of the 2020 season, citing concerns for the COVID-19 pandemic. Some players have pre-existing health conditions that put them more at risk – like the Rams’ Chandler Brewer, who has opted out – while others don’t want to put their families in danger.

Brewer is the only Rams player who has opted out of the season thus far, and McVay doesn’t expect any others to take that route. As of now, players have until Aug. 6 to make a decision about opting out, but the NFL is pushing to move up the deadline to either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Sean McVay doesn’t expect any more Rams to opt out before the deadline but says dialogue remains open and supportive. Says there is a “relief” feeling to know they can protect players at high risk if necessary – like in the case of Chandler Brewer.

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) August 2, 2020

Additionally, McVay doesn’t expect any players to be placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list to start training camp, which is a good sign for those recovering from injuries.

LA @RamsNFL HC McVay said he does not expect to place any players on PUP as of now

— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) August 2, 2020

The Rams currently have one player on the reserve/COVID-19 list (Terrell Lewis) after Michael Hoecht was activated on Sunday, and have only lost Brewer to an opt-out decision. With the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season, it’s easy to understand why a player might choose to sit out the season.

For those who do voluntarily opt out, they will receive a $150,000 advance for the 2020 season, though anyone opting out who is at high risk will receive $350,000. Players voluntarily opting out will have their 2021 base salary reduced by $150,000.