Sean McVay said he’s going to take the next couple of days to reflect before deciding whether to return next season as the Rams’ head coach or pursue his aspirations of becoming a TV analyst.
“Don’t want to rush into any sort of decision,” McVay told reporters Monday after concluding his sixth season with the Rams. “There’s a lot of emotion right after the season. There’s a lot of layers to this. There’s a lot of people that it does affect, that I don’t take lightly (and) I want to be mindful of.
“So, gonna take the next couple days to really be able to kind of reflect. Obviously, a lot of conversations with various people that will dictate and determine the decision that’s best for me, my family, the Rams and a lot of people.”
McVay said he’s undecided about his looming decision, but he’s sure about two things: He wants to be a TV analyst and he’s not done coaching.
“I don’t get the sense in the least bit that I’m done coaching,” McVay said. “It’s just a matter of what does that look like as it relates to the immediate future. It’s more about what you’re really working through right now.”
McVay repeatedly said the hardest part about his decision is “the amount of people that are affected” and he wants to discuss it with them. But McVay said many of them have told him to put himself, his wife Veronika and his family first, and he’ll likely continue hearing that during his upcoming days of reflection.
“My wife, my parents and then I’ll continue to lean on … I got so many fortunate people that I can lean on whether that be within the Rams organization or even the platform that this provides for people that are in similar situations can have some perspective,” McVay said. “But I feel very fortunate to have a great group of people in that inner circle to be able to help measure and weigh the different dynamics that are involved to ultimately make the best decision for a lot of people, but for myself and for our family.”
McVay is not done coaching, but his comments Monday hinted that he might be ready to pursue his other goals, which have been years in the making, before returning to the sidelines in the future.
“No, that was never the case,” McVay said about being asked whether he thought during Sunday’s regular-season finale in Seattle that he might have called his last play. “I’m 36 years old. I have endless amount of energy still. It’s just a matter of, hey, how do you make sure that as you move forward you’re able to do it in a way that’s best for yourself, your wife, your family members and then when you are in a role of this magnitude, doing it the way that you’re capable of and that’s what I want to be able to answer yes to, and if you can do those things I think a lot of clarity will come with that.”
McVay became the youngest head coach in NFL history after the Rams hired him at age 30 in 2017. He also became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl last season.
After hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, McVay was pursued by Amazon to join its “Thursday Night Football” TV broadcast. He declined, signed a contract extension with the Rams that runs through the 2026 season, then endured an injury-plagued, 12-loss season, which McVay referred to as the most challenging season of his coaching career.
He went through many highs to start his coaching career and experienced many lows during the 2022 regular season, but McVay has no regrets about saying no to Amazon.
“I wouldn’t change this for the world,” McVay said. “This needed to occur. This was a necessary part of the growth and the development for me to be the person that I need to be.”
McVay said he will have various discussions with Rams owner Stan Kroenke, chief operating officer Kevin Demoff and general manager Les Snead. He has their support while he ponders his decision, but McVay is probably leaning in a direction and it might be pointing to a TV booth.
He just has to put himself, his wife and his family first.
“This has been years,” McVay said about his opportunities to become a TV analyst. “This isn’t a new thing. This is something that I think has gone on for a handful of years, but it’s a beautiful challenge.”
