Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay will make his second Super Bowl appearance in four seasons today. He already holds the distinction as the youngest NFL head coach to accomplish this feat. Will McVay be the youngest to win it, and how did he get here at his age?
Sean McVay’s early career
When the Rams hired McVay as their head coach in 2017, they made the 30-year-old the youngest head coach in league history. A former assistant for Tampa Bay (age 22) and Washington (23), McVay demonstrated NFL acumen at a time when some future head coaches are cutting their teeth in high school sports.
In 2011, at the age of 25, he was promoted to tight ends coach for Washington, followed by offensive coordinator beginning in 2014. In this role, he was less than a year older than Washington’s two leading wideouts: DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. He inherited a team that was coming to grips with the likely all-too-brief career of former rookie phenom Robert Griffin III.
Washington ranked 26th in points scored in 2014. In their next two seasons, Washington finished 10th and 12th, respectively. They enjoyed back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since the 1990s.
The impressive turnaround — marked by the rapid development of former backup QB Kirk Cousins — catapulted McVay into the upper echelon of ascending coaching talents.
A phenomenal Rams tenure
Meanwhile, the Rams were headed in the opposite direction. They finished 4-12 in 2016 — their 13th consecutive non-winning season. Their leading receivers were Kenny Britt, Brian Quick, and TE Lance Hendricks. Todd Gurley endured a very disappointing sophomore campaign in which he averaged only 3.2 yards per carry behind a dreadful offensive line. Furthermore, Jared Goff was 0-7 as a starter.
The franchise’s turnaround in McVay’s first year as head coach mirrored the Bengals’ turnaround this year with the similarly young Zac Taylor at the helm. Goff transformed into a strong starting QB. Gurley rebounded, fulfilling his promise as an elite NFL back. The newly arrived Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods anchored a fierce receiving attack.
In 2016, the Rams were last in points scored. In 2017, they were No. 1.
Heading into Super Bowl 56, the 36-year-old McVay already is one of the most successful NFL coaches in history. He’s 6-3 in the postseason. If Kupp hadn’t torn his ACL in 2018, perhaps McVay would have been 7-2 with a victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl 53. He’s already the youngest head coach to appear in a Super Bowl. If the Rams are victorious today, McVay will be the youngest head coach to win one, beating out Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.