LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead agreed to multiyear contract extensions to stay with the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, extending their successful nine-year partnership.
And with his long-term future assured, McVay confirmed he also is optimistic about coming back next season with Matthew Stafford as his quarterback again.
The Rams are 92鈥�57 in the regular season and 10鈥�6 in the playoffs since Snead and owner Stan Kroenke hired a then-30-year-old McVay in 2017, one year after the franchise returned home from St. Louis. The Rams immediately ended a 12-year playoff absence with a seven-game improvement in McVay鈥檚 debut season, and they reached the Super Bowl a year later before .
Los Angeles has racked up eight winning seasons, seven playoff berths and four NFC West titles in nine years under McVay, the youngest coach to reach the Super Bowl and to win it. McVay and Snead agreed to their current deals after their Super Bowl triumph four years ago, and the latest extensions were no surprise given the smooth nature of their partnership.
鈥淚t means a lot,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淎s you continue to accumulate experience, you just realize how fortunate I feel to work for such great ownership … and our organization is special. Everything goes back to people. They make this special, and then to be able to do it in a city that you love, with a fan base that you’re watching continue to grow, I just love it.鈥�
McVay turned 40 only last month, but he is now the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL after the firings of and and . McVay got his job one month before San Francisco鈥檚 Kyle Shanahan, McVay鈥檚 good friend and former boss.
Snead has been the Rams鈥� general manager since 2012 in St. Louis. While his teams didn鈥檛 make the playoffs until McVay arrived, he built the foundation for McVay’s success with a series of strong drafts headlined by Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley, and he orchestrated the Rams鈥� trade up to get Jared Goff with the No. 1 overall pick in 2016.
McVay and Snead won a championship in their first season after trading Goff for Stafford, and they’re cautiously hopeful Stafford is sticking around to continue their five-year partnership for at least another season.
鈥淚f that’s something that he wants to do, the answer is absolutely yes,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淗e’s going to take his time, talk with (his wife) Kelly and the girls and see what’s best. But man, is he still playing at an incredible level. Our hope is that he does (return), but with respect to his timetable … whenever he feels ready to make that announcement, we’ll let him be able to do that.鈥�
Stafford, who turns 38 on Saturday, could be in the spotlight Thursday when the is announced. Stafford and New England’s Drake Maye are the top two candidates for an award Stafford has never even come close to winning before this remarkable season, when he led the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 touchdowns against just eight interceptions.
鈥淚’m keeping my fingers crossed, like you guys, that he still wants to go play,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淗e is the epitome of an igniter, but he鈥檚 just this incredibly humble superstar that has the ability to make everybody feel better when you鈥檙e around him.”
McVay doesn’t think Stafford 鈥渨ants to let it drag on鈥� before announcing his future. McVay didn’t mention the distinct possibility that Stafford also similar to what he received in the past two offseasons with the Rams.
After publicly flirting with an early departure from coaching a few years ago, McVay is now happy to cement his commitment to the Rams during a winter of NFL coaching upheaval 鈥� but he wasn’t happy at all to make the announcement while he’s on vacation instead of preparing for the .
The Rams went 12-5 and won two road playoff games to reach the NFC championship game this season, but they .
鈥淭hat game the other day probably hurt more than any loss I’ve ever been a part of,鈥� McVay said. 鈥淎nd it’s because of the love for the team.鈥�
McVay said he usually watches the Super Bowl in years when the Rams aren’t playing in it, but he’s not sure whether he can stomach it this weekend: 鈥淚 might punish myself. I don’t know that I’ll be tuning in for this one.鈥�
McVay confirmed he has hired Bubba Ventrone as his special teams coordinator following the , and Kyle Hoke will follow Ventrone from the Cleveland Browns as an assistant.
McVay hasn’t decided who will become his fifth offensive coordinator in Los Angeles after left to become the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach, but he acknowledges the Rams have 鈥渋nternal candidates.鈥�
Los Angeles pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase is a rising star who interviewed for several head coaching opportunities over the past month. All four of McVay’s former offensive coordinators are current NFL head coaches, as is former Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor.
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