DETROIT: Sean McVay, the coach of the Los Angeles Rams, was still in shock Sunday night when his team lost 24–23 to the Detroit Lions in the wild-card round of the playoffs, ending their season. He was standing at the podium at Ford Field.
A little over a year ago, McVay stated he wasn’t sure if he would return to lead the Rams in 2023 while standing at a different platform in Los Angeles. Shortly after the regular season concluded, McVay decided he wasn’t ready to retire, despite having the poorest record since his hiring in 2017 (5-12).
Following a 3-6 start to the 2023 season and injuries to running back Kyren Williams and quarterback Matthew Stafford, it appeared as though the Rams would follow the same route. Rather, Los Angeles secured the No. 6 seed in the NFC by winning seven of its final eight games of the campaign.
McVay exclaimed, “I’m very proud of this football team.” And it still doesn’t quite resonate in terms of its finality. But I must say that I learned a lot from this group and truly value it. They assisted me in rediscovering who I am and how much I like being here with these folks.”
Rams rookie nose tackle Kobie Turner said McVay told the team that “there’s a lot of room to grow, a lot to build off of, and the foundation that we laid this year will go on to hopefully do a lot of bigger and better things.”
“So just keep pushing and that this team is definitely, regardless of the outcome here tonight, is going to go down as one of the most special teams that he’s ever been around,” Turner said of McVay’s message to the team after the game
Stafford expressed his pride in this club for surpassing preseason predictions and stated he intends to return the next season. Prior to the season, the Rams’ predicted number of victories was 6.5; nevertheless, Los Angeles exceeded this prediction with a 10-7 regular-season record.
“We gave a really excellent football team a run for their money, and nobody gave us a chance to even be sniffing where we are right now,” Stafford remarked. “We didn’t finish, but we’re proud of the boys and their effort—the players, coaches, and everyone else involved.” It was an amazing year full with fun and accomplishments.”
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