Sean McVay says decision to return not just about 2023, committed to Rams for years

In the immediate aftermath of a disappointing 2022 season, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay had reportedly contemplated stepping away from the team. He not only decided to return for 2023, he emphatically stated on Friday that he is committed to the team long-term and does not want this to be a story every year.

“You want to make sure you’re making a decision for years to come," said McVay, via the Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue. "I’m committed to not having this become ‘a story’ every year. I don’t take that lightly.”

That is good news for the Rams as McVay has been one of the NFL's most successful head coaches since taking over the team prior to the 2017 season. At 37 he remains one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL even though he has been on the job for six years.

During those six years he has already taken the team to a pair of Super Bowls, winning their most recent appearance during the 2021 season.

The Rams followed that championship season with a disappointing 5-12 season that was McVay's first losing season in Los Angeles. And it is difficult to heap the blame on him for those struggles as the Rams had a lot of issues throughout the year. For starters, the 2021 team was clearly an all-in attempt to win and left the team in a tough salary cap and roster spot heading into 2022. Then once the season kicked off the injuries started to mount to key players, especially at quarterback.

Matthew Stafford was limited to just nine games, while the remaining games were a revolving door of replacement level players that consisted of John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and a late-season addition of Baker Mayfield. 

Other star players like wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive tackle Aaron Donald also missed extensive time during the season. 

The Rams were almost certainly not going to be able to find an upgrade on McVay this offseason, and with some better injury luck in 2023 they should be able to get this thing turned around relatively quickly.