Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed that he signed a contract extension after practice Tuesday at UC Irvine training camp. McVay did not specify when he finalized the deal, but it appears to have occurred during the offseason.
McVay also did not disclose the terms of the long-awaited agreement, but he said that he felt “good” with the extension deal.
“We are in a good place.” he said during his press conference, “I feel really good about the direction that’s going in and I think it’ll be something where it’ll be me and Les and you guys will know when that is finalized for us.”
The 36-year-old coach also added that negotiations between his representative and Rams general manager Les Snead were still ongoing. And the Rams planned to announce both his and Snead’s contracts at the same time.
“Les and I have always been a pair,” McVay said. “We wanted to announce that when both of us had gotten done. Mine is done. Les is in the process of that, but in respect of wanting to show the partnership for us … that was how I had addressed it. It is something that we’ve been taking care of.”
In March, Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff told the media that extending both Snead and McVay would be a priority this offseason, especially after they led the Rams to Super Bowl LVI victory.
#Rams coach Sean McVay tells reporters that he did receive a new contract. He added that the team will wait to announce it until the new deal for GM Les Snead is done.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2022
McVay, Snead collaboration
In 2017, McVay was hired as the Rams’ youngest head coach in modern league history. In five seasons, he has led the team to a 55-26 record and a 7-3 postseason record. During his tenure, the young coach led the Rams to three NFC West titles, two Super Bowl appearances, and one championship.
After winning nine of their final ten games, the team won their first championship since returning home to Los Angeles last season. The Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl 23-20 at their home stadium, SoFi Stadium.
Samuel Lester “Les” Snead became general manager when the team was still in St. Louis in 2012. During his tenure, the team has gone 86-74-1. Snead was the person in charge of replacing Jeff Fisher with McVay in 2017.
Snead moved up from 15th to first overall in 2016 to select quarterback Jared Goff. His most recent big-money trades were for quarterback Matthew Stafford in January 2021 and linebacker Von Miller in November 2021. Midway through the season, he also signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who played a key role in the Rams’ playoff run and Super Bowl success.
Allen Robinson is also the latest star receiver to join Sammy Watkins, Brandin Cooks, and Beckham Jr. on the Rams’ roster under McVay.
This offseason, Snead and the Rams’ front office extended several large contracts. They agreed to extend Stafford’s and wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s contracts through the 2026 season, as well as rework defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s contract to make him the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback player.
In addition, Snead and McVay’s best moves since joining the team have included the underappreciated acquisitions of Austin Corbett, Leonard Floyd, and Darious Williams.
Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports ranked every general manager in the NFL, and he put Snead and McVay at the top of his list.
Theirs was not, however, the only partnership on the list. Following Snead-McVay, Daugherty ranked Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots as the runner-up, Brandon Beane of the Buffalo Bills as number three, Andy Reid-Brett Veach duo of Kansas City as number four, and John Lynch-Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers as number five of the list.