- Joined
- May 25, 2013
- Messages
- 1,291
Sean McVay is betting on himself and he better be every bit the genius we all hope he is. For three years he surrounded himself with the most experienced, accomplished coaches available to him. Our coach wisely took the humble approach and checked both his ego and penchant for micro-management to build a team of leaders who effectively won far more games than they lost...together.
Nevertheless, although he couldn’t publicly admit it, McVay is terrible at one thing. He sucks at hiding his emotions the moment someone helplessly makes mistakes he wouldn’t make himself. Ultimately, wins and losses are his responsibility and that is not lost on him. Deferring to someone else’s judgement is healthy as long as that judgement is sound. Bones had relative autonomy with the ST unit, but Sean could hide neither his surprise nor his displeasure with the failed fake in the last game. While he felt his failure to overcome the obstacles to offensive success in the Super Bowl and throughout 2019, it was a different feeling not being able to openly meddle with the defense against the Bucs, Ravens, and Cowboys. So he took a couple weeks to decide, and firmly took the reigns himself.
This, of course, is an enormous gamble. Coach will diplomatically continue to praise the exploits of every member of the organization and absorb every failure as his own. But as is the case in all things...actions speak louder than words. If the intent was to hand ultimate control of a unit to someone else, one would hire an alpha with a deep, obvious resume. If one implicitly trusts another to develop their current body of work, they will be retained at all costs. There is a different dynamic in store for the Rams in 2020. Instead of the head coach meting suggestions to his assistants and accepting their decisions, Sean McVay looks for all the world today as a coach that wants things done in the manner he approves. He has assumed far greater control of the entire scope of the game day operation. Preparation will always be a collaborative effort, but no plan will be set without the head coach’s personal stamp of approval.
This will make the next season extremely unpredictable, not only to us fans, but more importantly, to opposing teams. An assessment of the new coaches will reveal a premium of mental agility and flexibility. There will be a familiarity with the concepts of the past but a focus on the solutions for the future. There will be no doubt going forward of what Sean McVay wants from his team. It will be clear in what they actually do in the next decade.
Nevertheless, although he couldn’t publicly admit it, McVay is terrible at one thing. He sucks at hiding his emotions the moment someone helplessly makes mistakes he wouldn’t make himself. Ultimately, wins and losses are his responsibility and that is not lost on him. Deferring to someone else’s judgement is healthy as long as that judgement is sound. Bones had relative autonomy with the ST unit, but Sean could hide neither his surprise nor his displeasure with the failed fake in the last game. While he felt his failure to overcome the obstacles to offensive success in the Super Bowl and throughout 2019, it was a different feeling not being able to openly meddle with the defense against the Bucs, Ravens, and Cowboys. So he took a couple weeks to decide, and firmly took the reigns himself.
This, of course, is an enormous gamble. Coach will diplomatically continue to praise the exploits of every member of the organization and absorb every failure as his own. But as is the case in all things...actions speak louder than words. If the intent was to hand ultimate control of a unit to someone else, one would hire an alpha with a deep, obvious resume. If one implicitly trusts another to develop their current body of work, they will be retained at all costs. There is a different dynamic in store for the Rams in 2020. Instead of the head coach meting suggestions to his assistants and accepting their decisions, Sean McVay looks for all the world today as a coach that wants things done in the manner he approves. He has assumed far greater control of the entire scope of the game day operation. Preparation will always be a collaborative effort, but no plan will be set without the head coach’s personal stamp of approval.
This will make the next season extremely unpredictable, not only to us fans, but more importantly, to opposing teams. An assessment of the new coaches will reveal a premium of mental agility and flexibility. There will be a familiarity with the concepts of the past but a focus on the solutions for the future. There will be no doubt going forward of what Sean McVay wants from his team. It will be clear in what they actually do in the next decade.