The insane new Sean McVay Record cements his coaching legacy


Sean McVay is making NFL coaching history. Remarkably, in just eight seasons as Los Angeles Rams head coach, McVay will face his third former assistant in a playoff game on Monday.

The Rams will face the Minnesota Vikings. Their head coach is Kevin O’Connell, who won a Super Bowl as the Rams’ offensive coordinator and is the odds-on favorite to win the NFL Coach of the Year award.

Sean McVay’s incredible coaching legacy

NFL: Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers Sean McVay Matt LaFleur
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn pictures

According to the Voice of the Los Angeles Rams, JB long, NFL Research could not confirm a precedent for this incident dating back to 1960, highlighting the unique nature of McVay’s coaching tree.

He first coached against a former assistant in the 2020 playoffs when he faced Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. The Packers won that game 32-18. LaFleur worked as the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017, just two seasons before taking over in Green Bay.

Preview of Los Angeles Rams vs. Minnesota Vikings

The next incident was against Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, resulting in a 23-20 LA win. Taylor was McVay’s assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 and quarterbacks coach in 2018. He was hired by the Bengals the day after the Rams’ Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots.

McVay has a chance to meet his fourth former assistant, Raheem Morris, who is the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons as early as next season. The Falcons narrowly missed the playoffs after going 8-9 in the NFC South.

McVay’s coaching tree has shown remarkable growth and success in a relatively short time frame. In just eight seasons as a head coach, he has guided the Rams to the playoffs six times, and his former assistants now hold prominent positions throughout the league, leading to the unprecedented scenario of multiple playoff games against his former protégés.

McVay won the NFL Coach of the Year award as a rookie head coach in 2017. In six seasons, McVay has coached in 11 playoff games. Those games include two Super Bowl appearances.