The San Diego Chargers recently announced their plans to move to Los Angeles. The Rams, who had just moved from St. Louis the year before, weren't going to let them have all the limelight. They had an announcement of their own to make.
The Rams have come to terms with former Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay. McVay, who turns 31 on January 24, is the youngest coach in the modern NFL era, and the youngest since 1938, when the Cleveland Browns made 27-year-old Art "Pappy" Lewis their head coach.
McVay's contract numbers haven't been disclosed, but we do know it's a five-year contract. It's safe to say he'll probably be on the lower end of the pay scale, so let's assume he's making the minimum: $3.5 million a year, the same deal Oakland's Jack Del Rio has and the recently fired Gus Bradley had with the Jaguars. That's a total of $17.5 million for a coach who's fairly unproven.
Boom! Welcome to Los Angeles! pic.twitter.com/BpoppYtSvV
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 12, 2017
A big reason why the Rams are enamored with McVay is due to his work turning Kirk Cousins into a solid quarterback. They're hoping he can do the same with No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. Really, there's nowhere to go but up, since the Rams have finished dead last in offensive yards over the past two seasons. The Redskins, meanwhile, were third offensively this past season, averaging more than 400 yards per game.
McVay takes over for Jeff Fisher, who was making $7 million a year to lead the Rams to…well, five straight seasons with a losing record. The bar isn't very high in Los Angeles.
McVay has already gotten to work, poaching defensive coordinator Wade Phillips from the Denver Broncos. The Rams have requested that he keep special teams coordinator John Fassel, who served as the Rams interim coach for the final three games of this season, all losses.
The Rams are hoping McVay can give them a jolt. While earlier coaches have seen success in their early to mid-30s, the four youngest coaches of the Super Bowl era – Lane Kiffin, Raheem Morris, David Shula and Josh McDaniels – went a combined 52-115 before getting fired by their respective teams.
Will McVay suffer a similar fate? Only time will tell, but after a lackluster first season in Los Angeles, the Rams had to make a splash.
