Sean McVay’s impact on the Los Angeles Rams’ offense was felt immediately in his first season as the head coach in 2017. The Rams became the first team in the Super Bowl era to go from scoring the fewest points to the most points in one year, a remarkable turnaround in Year 1 at the helm.
That immediately led to McVay being called an offensive genius for the way he drew up plays and schemed guys open on that side of the ball. That tagline has stuck with McVay ever since, and while he probably won’t complain about being called a genius, Andrew Whitworth says it’s almost an insult.
Why? Because McVay is much more than just a bright offensive coach. He’s the best leader Whitworth has ever been around. On “The Pivot Podcast,” Whitworth explained what it was like playing for McVay and shared what makes him such a great leader.
“It’s pretty wild. Walking into a building with Sean, I think the first thing that blew you away is you walk up and you realize how young he is, but also how dynamic he is,” Whitworth said. “He is obviously a genius and he obviously does a great job of putting defenses in tough positions all the time, but I think that it’s kind of like when you sometimes as a player feel like someone gives you a compliment, but in some ways, it’s disrespectful because it doesn’t tell the whole picture, I think Sean McVay is one of those people that the genius offensive guru is almost an insult. Because what he really is is a tremendous leader. He is one of the rarest people in owning a room and a moment in front of his team and being there to talk about things that really do matter in the day. Like when adversity hits, tough times hit, can we communicate? Are we able to have tough conversations, but be real with one another – and at the same time realize all of us have the same goal. He has an ability at a really young age to be able to do that, that’s really rare. I think what’s special about him is that that culture, that communication, those are truly the most important things to him and they’re what he excels at.”
Whitworth said McVay is “one of one” when it comes to his ability to lead and communicate with his players, always finding ways to collaborate with guys and work closely with them to find the best solution for the team.
Everyone knows what a great coach McVay is, and we saw that on full display last season during the Rams’ Super Bowl run. But as Whitworth put it, he’s an even better leader. And that’s a critical part of leading an NFL team.
