The team announced Friday that Sean McVay has told the Rams he will remain the head coach in Los Angeles.
The decision comes days after McVay announced in his end-of-season press conference that he would take the “right time” to make a decision about his future to figure out “the best way to keep moving forward in the right way and be the best coach you can be.”
The Rams are coming off a 5-12 season, McVay’s worst losing campaign since being hired by Los Angeles in 2017, as they have dealt with a slew of injuries, including starting at quarterback. Matthew Stafforda wide future cooper cup and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
During the 2022 season, McVay signed a contract extension that runs through the 2026 season, matching the length of the deal signed by general manager Les Snead.
This isn’t the first time McVay’s retirement has come to pass. In the week leading up to Super Bowl LVI this past February, McVay answered a question by saying it “wouldn’t work out” if he was training until he was 60 and talked about the things he wanted to pursue outside of football.
“I know I love football and I’m very invested in this thing and I’m in the moment now,” McVay said at the time. “But also at some point, if you say, ‘What do you want to be able to do? “I want to be able to have a family, and I want to be able to spend time with them.”
After the Rams won the Super Bowl, McVay was asked if he would return to Los Angeles in 2022. He replied, “We’ll see.” But less than two weeks after the Super Bowl, McVay told ESPN that he would not be pursuing any television opportunities and would return to coaching the Rams.
McVay, who was the youngest coach in modern NFL history when he was hired by the Rams in 2017 before his 31st birthday, has led Los Angeles to a 67-41 record in six seasons, including the playoffs. The Rams have won three NFC West titles, an NFC Championship and a Super Bowl.
After this season, McVay described his job as a “nice challenge,” saying, “I wouldn’t change any part of this.”
“The ultimate thing is you want to make sure that that joy, that enthusiasm, that ability to be able to do things at the level that you know you’re capable of, how do you not let the challenges and the grind and the rival within you… how do you not let that change the dynamic Who do you want to be a leader in these kinds of things? And that’s kind of where I am.”