Sean McVay completely turned the Los Angeles Rams around as soon as he was hired in 2017. Prior to McVay’s arrival, the Rams had not made the playoffs since 2004 when they were the then St. Louis Rams.
McVay arrived and immediately took L.A. to the playoffs in his first year. The next year, they were in the Super Bowl. McVay’s changing of the Rams’ culture is among the most dramatic turnarounds in the NFL you’ll find.
The (roughly) decade before McVay
The Rams went 8-8 in their ’04 season, and somehow beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild
Card Round. St. Louis would go on to lose in the Divsional Round to the Atlanta Falcons. They never made it back to the playoffs until McVay’s arrival.
From the span of 2005 to 2016, the Rams lost, and they lost a lot. They won 60 games with 131 losses. Zero contention. Zero hope year in and year out.
The (roughly) decade after McVay
Then, in 2017, Les Snead took a risk and hired McVay, the youngest NFL head coach at the time. McVay rewrote the book on what the Rams could be.
From 2017 to 2025, McVay and the Rams won 92 regular season games to go along with 57 losses. Two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl win. Plenty of the hope year in and year out.
A new day
The Rams went from being a doormat to a perennial contender. It took a team effort, but no single person may have made that turnaround happen more than McVay.
Before McVay, the Rams weren’t taken seriously as a Super Bowl team, they weren’t even taken seriously as a team that could win any given Sunday. It was the dark ages for the franchise and the fanbase.
Now, the Rams contend every year (one losing season aside). McVay’s led them to a Super Bowl win. McVay is the best head coach in the history of the Rams.
Fans should be frustrated with lack of continuity on special teams. No one should be more frustrated than McVay, but with history as a guide, McVay will get this team right. He’s done it before.
If McVay doesn’t get it right, he’ll lose some of his shine, but not all of it. Not until the Rams find another head coach who does it better.
