Getty Andrew Whitworth on October 13, 2022 before the Commanders faced the Bears in Chicago.
Count a former Los Angeles Rams player and past beloved leader under Sean McVay as one who believes his head coach won’t walk away from the sidelines in 2023.
Rams legend and Super Bowl 56 winner Andrew Whitworth sounded off on the drama surrounding McVay’s coaching future and whether or not he wants to take a step back for next season on the Tuesday, January 10 edition of The Rich Eisen Show. The rumblings of McVay walking away comes following the dismal 5-12 campaign after winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“Big Whit” doesn’t see a scenario where McVay leaves for other interests, including the head coach’s interest in broadcasting.
“I’d be shocked to see him not leading a group of men, playing this game that he loves so much,” Whitworth said to the radio host and longtime NFL Network personality. “It’s just hard for me to imagine him not leading rooms.”
Whitworth has Strong Cohesion With McVay, But Noticed Wear of 2022 Season
Whitworth developed a strong bond over the years with his former head coach. After all, “Big Whit” became a fixture for the Rams offensive line and became a beloved leader inside the “Rams House,” plus was in Cabo San Lucas when he and McVay ran into Matthew Stafford — ultimately leading to the blockbuster 2021 trade.
So who better than to address McVay’s pending coaching future than Whitworth himself.
While Whitworth has transitioned over to the broadcast field after completing his first season with the Amazon Prime NFL crew, he did notice the toil of the 2022 season for his former team.
“It was a tough year for that entire organization,” Whitworth said. “I think because when you go from being at that level to now ‘hey, we’re just trying to contend in games,’ I think it was tough on him, it was tough and everyone in that building. And obviously, a lot of different things in his life happened in the last year. And all things that lead to, you know, you feel stressed out and worn out.”
How Does ‘Big Whit’ See McVay Handling This Process?
Whitworth again doesn’t see a scenario where McVay isn’t coaching the 2023 Rams. But, “I think it’s going to be him taking some time and figuring out what’s really important to him.”
The left tackle, whose final NFL game was the Super Bowl he and McVay won together, simply believes that McVay was made to be a head coach and leader of men.
“One of the most impressive things about him when he took the job is his ability to capture a room and lead a group of people, I thought was just so rare,” Whitworth said, who played from 2017 to 2021 with McVay as his final NFL head coach. “I’ve been around some really special ones — when they talk, everyone listens.”
Whitworth gave two examples who correlate to McVay — both championship winning coaches Whitworth was around.
“Nick Saban (Whitworth’s former college football head coach at LSU) being one of those guys who can, you know, something about him made you want to sign up and go wherever he is and Kirby Smart (two-time National Champion winning head coach for Georgia) as well when he was there at LSU when I was too. They’re both like that and being around them and their success and now Sean.”
Whitworth shared one last story while pointing to why he doesn’t see McVay leaving.
“When I got to be around Sean, I told him ‘Man, since Nick Saban, I hadn’t been around somebody like that,'” he said.