Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay has been named the Los Angeles Rams head coach, taking over from NFL veteran Jeff Fisher, who was fired in December. At just 30 years old, McVay will become the youngest head coach in modern NFL history.
Lane Kiffin, who was four months shy of turning 32 when the Oakland Raiders hired him in 2007, was the league’s previous youngest head coach. He was fired during his second season by owner Al Davis and is currently beginning his new gig as head coach at Florida Atlantic University.
As for McVay, he was offered the L.A. job on Wednesday after his second interview with the Rams and team owner Stan Kroenke, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“I am incredibly honored by this opportunity and I want to start by thanking Mr. Kroenke and Kevin Demoff for their faith in me to lead the Los Angeles Rams as head coach,” McVay said in a statement. “Collectively, we are committed to building a championship caliber team, and I’m excited to start that process and make our fans proud.”
“This is a great day as we welcome Sean McVay as our new head coach,” Kroenke continued. “The accomplishments and success that he has had in less than a decade in our league are impressive. We are confident in his vision to make this team a consistent winner and we will all continue to work together to achieve our ultimate goal — bringing a Rams Super Bowl championship home to Los Angeles.”
No doubt both the organization and its disappointed fans hope that the offense-minded coach will fix what has been the NFL’s worst offense for two consecutive seasons. The Rams finished their first season back in L.A. with a losing record of 4-12 record and the team hasn’t gone to the playoffs since the 2004 season.
Rams Announce Sean McVay as Head Coach pic.twitter.com/WH6jkwYAWQ
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 12, 2017
McVay, who turns 31 on Jan. 24, began his coaching career as an assistant wide receivers coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. In 2010, he was hired as the assistant tight ends coach for the Washington Redskins, and has been their offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.
While still a rookie in head coaching terms, McVay comes from a respected NFL lineage as his grandfather is former San Francisco 49ers general manager John McVay, who was involved in constructing the five Super Bowl winning seasons for the team.
As announced earlier on Thursday, the Rams are soon going to be joined in L.A. by Southern California neighbors the Chargers, who’ll be moving north to the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California, for the 2017 season after attempts to fund a new stadium in San Diego fell through.