If experience can’t help the hapless Rams, maybe inexperience and youth can.
The Rams Thursday announced that the team’s new head coach will be Sean McVay, a 30-year-old from the Washington Redskins who’s never been an NFL head coach.
McVay will become the youngest head coach in the NFL.
But things can’t get too much worse for the Rams, as they finished this past season with a dismal 4-12 record. Luckily the Rams didn’t end up in the NFC west cellar as the worst team in football — the San Francsico 49ers — is in the same division and managed only two wins.
It was a weird football day for Los Angeles as the new head coach was named hours after the Chargers announced they’ll dump San Diego and be playing in Los Angeles for the coming season.
So the Rams won’t be the only losing team in Los Angeles in 2017. The Chargers went 5-11 and really did end up in last place in the AFC west.
But there’s always optimism when the new guy rides into town, and it was all smiles as McVay was introduced.
Prior to becoming offensive coordinator in Washington, McVay spent three seasons as the club’s tight ends coach and one season as an offensive assistant. He joined the league in 2008 as an offensive assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“The accomplishments and success that he has rendered in less than a decade in our league are remarkable,” Rams owner Stan Kroenke said. “I am confident in his vision to make this team a consistent winner and to ultimately bring a Super Bowl title home to Los Angeles.”
McVay is the 23rd head coach in the team’s history, and he replaces Jeff Fisher, who was fired Dec. 12. Fisher, who had been the team’s head coach since 2012, had a 31-45-1 record with the team.
The Rams finished the 2016-17 season with a 4-12 record, ending with a seven-game losing streak. It was the team’s worst record since 2011 when they were 2-14. It was also the team’s 10th straight losing season.
McVay, however, exuded confidence.
“I am incredibly honored by this opportunity and I want to start by thanking Mr. Kroenke and (chief operating officer) Kevin Demoff for their faith in me to lead the Los Angeles Rams as head coach,” McVay said. “Collectively, we are committed to building a championship-caliber team, and I’m excited to start that process and make our fans proud.”
Under McVay’s leadership, the Redskins’ offense finished second this season in passing yards per game (297.4), passing yards per play (7.84) and yards per play (6.4). The team averaged more than 400 yards per game and set a team record with 6,454 total net yards, ending the regular season as the NFL’s third-ranked offense.
–City News Service