McVay staying with Rams after mulling future

LOS ANGELES — Sean McVay has told the Rams that he will remain the head coach in Los Angeles, the team announced Friday.

The decision comes days after McVay said in his end-of-season news conference that he would be taking the “appropriate time” to make a decision on his future to figure out “the best way to continue to move forward in the right way to be the best coach that you can possibly be.”

The Rams are coming off a 5-12 season, McVay’s worst losing campaign since he was hired in Los Angeles in 2017, as they dealt with a slew of injuries, including to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

During the 2022 offseason, McVay signed a contract extension that runs through the 2026 season, matching the length of the deal signed by general manager Les Snead.

This isn’t the first time a possible McVay retirement has come up. In the week leading up to Super Bowl LVI last February, McVay answered a question by saying he “won’t make it” if he is coaching until he is 60 and talked about the things he wants to pursue outside of football.

“I know I love football and I’m so invested in this thing and I’m in the moment right now,” McVay said at the time. “But at some point too, if you said, ‘What do you want to be able to do?’ I want to be able to have a family, and I want to be able to spend time with them.”

After the Rams’ Super Bowl victory, McVay was asked whether he would return to Los Angeles in 2022. He responded, “We’ll see.” But less than two weeks after the Super Bowl, McVay told ESPN that he would not be pursuing any television opportunities and would return to coach the Rams.

McVay, who was the youngest head coach in modern NFL history when he was hired by the Rams in 2017 just before his 31st birthday, has led Los Angeles to a 67-41 record in six seasons, including playoffs. His Rams team have won three NFC West titles, two NFC championships and one Super Bowl.

After this season, McVay called his job a “beautiful challenge,” saying, “I wouldn’t change any part of this.”

“The ultimate thing is you want to make … sure that this joy, this zest, this ability to be able to do the things at the level that you know you’re capable of, how do you not let the challenges and the grind and the competitor in you … how do you not let that change the dynamic of who you want to be as a leader in those types of things? And that’s kind of where I’m at.”