LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Sean McVay will spend his 40th birthday on Saturday in the exact same way he spent the vast majority of his 30s.
He’ll be preparing the Los Angeles Rams to play their hearts out.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 a good birthday? When I鈥檓 working on my birthday, and if I鈥檓 working next week,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淭hat would be a hell of a birthday. That鈥檚 the only present I want.鈥�
This year, he’ll be working to get the Rams ready for on Sunday. If Los Angeles (14-5) beats the Seattle Seahawks (16-3), McVay will open his next decade by preparing to coach in his third Super Bowl 鈥� something no one has done at his age.
McVay has been the 鈥測oungest鈥� and the 鈥渇irst鈥� to a jaw-dropping number of accomplishments as a 30-year-old prodigy. He became the apogee of cerebral, offense-minded coaching while transforming a long-struggling franchise into a winner, and his stature in his profession’s hierarchy hasn’t really changed in nine years.
As he reaches 40, McVay is still working long hours, innovating constantly and striving to master every facet of this complex game. But after he publicly considered walking away from coaching several years ago, the father of two young sons also says he has developed a more nuanced perspective about what football really means 鈥� and what coaching truly is.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of growing up to do since nine years ago when we first got here,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淥ver the last couple of years, and I think through some of the adverse times where you鈥檙e really forced to do that reflection, is where the appreciation and joy and the journey come from. It鈥檚 not exclusive to just the trophies. Those are all fleeting. The other things last a lot longer, and I think it keeps your cup full when that鈥檚 really where your intrinsic motivation comes from.
“Because if it鈥檚 just about the other stuff, I think that鈥檚 too shallow.鈥�
McVay has already summitted nearly every coaching mountaintop, and he was almost always the first to reach each peak.
He became an offensive coordinator at 27 in Washington. He was the youngest head coach in the Super Bowl era when the Rams hired him in 2017, and he immediately led them to their first playoff berth in 13 years.
At 33, McVay became the youngest head coach to reach the Super Bowl.
At 36, he became the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl.
At 39 , McVay claimed his 10th playoff victory 鈥� the most by any coach under 40, and the same number as Bill Walsh and George Seifert managed in their entire careers.
With and this month, McVay is now the second longest-tenured coach in the entire NFL, behind only Kansas City’s Andy Reid.
While his year-to-year results have been outstanding 鈥� eight winning seasons, seven playoff berths, four NFC West titles and those two Super Bowl runs 鈥� McVay says he takes more pride in his evolution as a leader than in his steady success on the field.
鈥淲hat I think about the most is the appreciation for when I haven鈥檛 been at my best, but the unconditional support that I felt,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淭hat means a whole hell of a lot to me. (There were) moments I鈥檝e been open about where I wasn鈥檛 the leader, I wasn鈥檛 the man or the coach that I wanted to be on a consistent basis. I鈥檓 not by any stretch saying that I鈥檝e got it all figured out. But I鈥檓 better than what I once was, and it鈥檚 only because I鈥檓 around people, and I have family and friends and people in this building, that make you want to do better.鈥�
McVay needed that maturity to thrive during a tumultuous 2025.
He started last January coaching the Rams through two playoff games near their training complex. He began the new season on the sideline in Week 2 while running to speak to an official.
The Rams rolled to an 11-3 start before a late slump knocked them out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. But after two gritty playoff wins, McVay’s team could become only the sixth in NFL history to win three straight postseason games in road stadiums.
Amid all of this work excitement, McVay and his wife, Veronika, then expanded their family last month with the birth of Christian McVay, their second son in just over two years. The erstwhile workaholic loves parenthood, both for its new viewpoint on life and for the way it bonds him with friends and colleagues.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun to watch him become a father of two,鈥� said quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has four kids of his own. 鈥淚 was FaceTiming my girls in the meeting room (Friday) morning, and he鈥檚 asking (youngest daughter) Tyler if her tooth is still loose. It鈥檚 a really cool, unique relationship, and one that I don鈥檛 take for granted.鈥�
Even with a new noisemaker in his house, McVay has become a convert to the importance of sleep, getting at least seven hours every night after spending years in the performative sleep droughts so often flaunted by football coaches.
It’s only the latest signal that McVay is growing and maturing. He鈥檚 no longer younger than any of his players, and he isn’t the youngest head coach in the NFL after he spent a whopping seven seasons holding that title.
But as anyone can see on the Rams’ sideline each week, McVay remains a ferocious competitor and a football obsessive who’s grateful to be working instead of blowing out candles.
鈥淚’m not a big birthday guy,鈥� McVay said with a broad grin. 鈥淎nd if you guys say, 鈥楬appy 40th,鈥� I’ll slap the (expletive) out of you.”
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