SEATTLE — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay is in the process of evaluating his options for 2023, multiple team and league personnel told The Athletic over the last several days. The people who spoke were granted anonymity so they could provide deeper context to what has been characterized as a “fluid” situation.
Advertisement
McVay, 36, is deciding whether he wants to coach or take a break after a 5-11 season he has referred to as a “professional failure” and that has clearly taken a toll on his psychological well-being.
While McVay has been openly courted with high-dollar offers by broadcasting companies for a few years, including this year, his pending decision does not correlate to any current offer in that field, a person with knowledge of McVay’s process said. Instead, McVay is deciding whether it is healthiest for him to take a break from football. McVay has publicly reiterated that he would like to go into broadcasting at some point in the future.
The Rams have worked through this conversation with McVay on multiple occasions before, including after the 2022 season (though that had more to do with the offers McVay was receiving from media companies at that time).
After winning the Super Bowl last February, McVay signed a contract through 2026 with the Rams that placed him among the higher-paid coaches in the NFL, and the team also extended core players Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp.
The Rams have made it clear to McVay that they support however he wants to proceed, a person directly familiar with his process said — whether he needs to take a break, or perhaps if they can make changes as an organization in 2023 to give him what he needs to work at his best. This could be inclusive of coaching changes at assistant positions to help with McVay and his staff’s workload management, among other support ideas.
But, the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity added, McVay’s mind is not made up. Instead, he will take some time to evaluate his decision. The Rams have not given McVay a deadline.
Multiple team personnel who spoke with The Athletic also noted that they would not be surprised by whatever the decision is that he ultimately makes, either way.
Advertisement
One person with direct knowledge of the Rams’ contingency plans for either option, who was granted anonymity in order to speak freely, said that even if McVay decided to step away in 2023, the organization does not currently believe he would permanently retire from coaching.
After Sunday’s season finale, a loss at Seattle, McVay declined to discuss his immediate future with the Rams. When asked directly whether he would be coaching the Rams in 2023, he said, “I’m not thinking about that right now. Nothing has changed from … where we left things off on Friday. I’m right here, right now, and we’ll deal with that stuff at a later time.”
McVay was then asked why he was unsure of a specific answer at this time.
“I’ll talk about stuff as it relates to the game,” McVay said. “Anything that relates to what is gonna happen with me, like I said, I’m not thinking about that right now.”
Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who started for the Rams after joining the team in Week 14, has gotten to know McVay more since their initial meeting on a plane ahead of his rookie season. While multiple players said postgame that they aren’t sure what will happen with McVay, Mayfield noted, “(McVay) is so truly invested in (putting) everything he has into this game. Everything he thinks about is about football. That’s why you see the toll that it takes on him.”
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)