Getty Sean McVay talks to Odell Beckham Jr. during the Rams' 30-27 road win over the Buccaneers on Sunday, January 23.
The NFL world at this moment likely knows about the powerful football brain cells and the vibrant enthusiasm Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay brings on a weekly basis.
The 36-year-old McVay has been lauded as a “boy genius” for how he calls offenses. He’s been lauded for how he’s developed explosive units that get unleashed on Sundays, Mondays or Thursdays during the fall.
But, as one insider pointed out in a conversation with Heavy, his play-calling ability actually isn’t the only thing McVay is considered great at.
Where McVay is Strongest
NFL Network insider Steve Wyche spoke with Heavy about an area that McVay has thrived in — which rarely gets discussed.
That area? It’s not the players he develops or helps lure into L.A. It involves who he hires.
“Sean McVay does a great job of hiring coaches that develop talent,” Wyche said. “And that’s a hard thing to do on an NFL calendar when you’re game planning week-to-week.”
And the developmental aspect actually doesn’t come between the months of August to December, as Wyche noted.
“Most of this development has to come in the offseason and in practice when these guys are on the scout team,” Wyche said.
Wyche used this example of describing how the coaches not named McVay have been masterful at developing certain Rams at the team’s practice field outside of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
“When these receivers who they’re developing, like Van Jefferson, well they’re going up against Jalen Ramsey. That helps them,” Wyche said, revealing how a young wideout like the second-year pro going against an All-Pro like Ramsey builds confidence and field smarts for the former.
But it’s also vice versa as Wyche pointed out.
“These DB’s (defensive backs) are going against Cooper Kupp and now Odell Beckham and, when he comes back next year, Robert Woods, that helps them develop,” Wyche said. “So that competitive nature they have along with the great coaching…I mean their position coaches are just phenomenal.”
The Rams Coaches Who Earned Praised From Wyche
Wyche is a fan of Eric Henderson, the defensive line coach of the Rams who the insider says “other than maybe the 49ers’ Kris Kocurek, might be the best D-line coach in the NFL.”
Here’s a recap of what Henderson has done with the Rams‘ trench unit:
A.D still dominant: Now in his 30s, Henderson has still helped coach Aaron Donald into a double-digit sack machine — producing 12.5 during the regular season. Donald was a disruptive force in the 30-27 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Aaron Donald (@AaronDonald97) beats the short set with a quick club/swim, gets vertical & pressures Brady. If you beat the hands, you beat the man! #passrush #larams
Aaron Donald (@AaronDonald97) strikes his pressure key, reduces his hitting surface & beats the combo block for the TFL! #stoptherun #larams
Aaron Donald alredy taking advantage of the loss of Wirfs. @AaronDonald97 attacks the hands, works the rip, keeps his feet active & gets to Brady! #passrush #larams
Getting “Gaines” along the trenches: One of the best surprises for the Rams defense has been the development of Greg Gaines, who went from being buried on the depth chart to adding an extra layer to the pass rush along the trenches. Since November 28, Gaines has produced 4.5 sacks. Gaines was called “super disruptive” by ESPN NFL Live’s Mina Kimes.
Watching Rams D for today’s pod and it’s very cool how much Greg Gaines (#91) has grown this year–he’s on the field a *ton* and is super disruptive. Looks more agile than he did coming out of UW.
He also showed his hustle on Trevor Lawrence:
Is Greg Gaines the fastest player in the NFL? Some are saying…
44% of this stat: Of the Rams’ 50 regular season sacks, 22 came from the defensive line — meaning that unit was responsible for nearly half (44%) of the teams’ sacks.
But Henderson wasn’t the only coach Wyche lauded.
“Ejiro Evero, their secondary coach, is one of the best in the NFL at developing (talent),” Wyche said.
Wyche then dove into one area of the secondary where Evero’s coaching has given them a lift.
“I’m going to start with their safeties Nick Scott and Terrell Burgess are not their normal starting safeties. And they’re killing it,” Wyche said.
Scott, in particular, showed his range and closing pursuits against Tom Brady here:
Nick Scott with some nice ball tracking on that INT. Elbows above eyes!
Again, the spark comes from the position coaches McVay has on his staff.
McVay Knows How to ‘Keep the Synchronicity Going’
Here’s one more area McVay is strongest at that Wyche alluded to: Synchronicity within the Rams.
In an NFL where coaches and players change jobs every offseason, McVay has found a way to churn out high-quality assistants who become coordinator or head coach material. Even when he has lost a prominent assistant elsewhere, he’s been able to keep a strong flow of replacements.
“So being able to constantly coach your coaches, to develop players and keep the synchronicity when they’re churning out coaches, remember they’re losing coordinators to head coaching jobs and position coaches to coordinator jobs every year, and to keep that synchronicity going and to develop those guys while you have top-end talent, that’s a hard skill to do,” Wyche said. “Sean McVay deserves all the roses that are constantly thrown his way.”