Sean McVay reflects on hiring anniversary prior to frigid divisional round matchup with Bears

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. -- Nine years ago today, the Los Angeles Rams would make a franchise-altering decision that would change the course of NFL history.

On Jan. 12, 2017, the Los Angeles Rams named 30-year-old Washington offensive coordinator Sean McVay as the new head coach of an organization that had not reached the playoffs in 12 consecutive seasons. The hire made McVay the youngest head coach in modern NFL history.

Nearly a decade later, the offensive mastermind prepares for a divisional round clash with the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field with a trip to the NFC Championship game on the line.

McVay detailed his first order of business for his team during an introductory press conference back in Jan. 2017. 

"The first thing that we're gonna do is going to focus on that continuous improvement," McVay said. "We know that in order to achieve any goal, it's about staying one day at a time and getting better each day."

After the organization fired Jeff Fisher in December 2016, team owner Stan Kroenke knew the team needed drastic change to return to relevance. The primary objective was overhauling a coaching staff that had overseen the NFL’s worst scoring offense in 2016, averaging just 14.0 points per game. The Rams turned to  McVay and his offensive brilliance to modernize a stale, lifeless unit led by rookie No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. McVay did not simply improve the offense — he completely revolutionized it.

In the span of one season, Los Angeles vaulted from the league’s worst offense to a tie for the NFL’s second-best scoring unit, improving by 14.9 points per game. McVay unlocked the former Cal quarterback in his sophomore campaign, as Goff threw for 3,804 yards and 28 touchdowns, leading the Rams to an 11-5 record and an NFC West title — their first since 2003. McVay, Goff and company built on that strong foundation, leading the NFC in scoring in 2018 at 30.4 points per game and guiding Los Angeles to its first Super Bowl appearance in 17 years.

Since his debut in 2017, McVay has established himself as one of the NFL’s premier head coaches, compiling a 92-57 regular-season record and a 9-5 mark across eight postseason appearances — highlighted by a Super Bowl 56 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

McVay reflected on his time with the Rams organization and what has made the journey special.

“It’s crazy that it’s been that long ago,” McVay said. “What I do reflect on, and my parents being in town when you talk about a lot of the cool things that have happened, is just a lot of gratitude for a lot of cool things and a lot of special relationships that have been built.”

In order to send his team to the NFC title game, McVay will need to accomplish something he has yet to do — win in the Windy City of Chicago.

Early indications suggest Sunday's game against Chicago could be one of the coldest games Sean McVay has ever coached in his career. 

The 39-year-old, who turns 40 on January 24, is 0-2 at Soldier Field and has struggled to generate offense in that stadium, scoring just 24 total points across the two contests. In Week 13 of the 2018 season, the Rams entered a Sunday Night Football matchup riding one of the most explosive offensive stretches in league history, fresh off a 54-51 win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Coliseum in one of the NFL’s most memorable games. Just six days later, Chicago’s elite defense bottled up McVay’s high-powered attack, holding Los Angeles to six points in a 15-6 loss to the Mitchell Trubisky-led Bears.

Brandon Sloter / Sporting Tribune

Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams walks on the field prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 29, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

The divisional-round matchup with Chicago marks the 15th different opponent McVay has faced in the postseason, as he has yet to meet the same team twice across his eight playoff trips.

A Super Bowl victory would make McVay the 15th head coach in NFL history to win multiple Lombardi Trophies — cementing his status as one of football’s all-time great coaches.