As the 2022 season ended, Sean McVay was contemplating stepping down as the Rams head coach.
After winning Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season, the Rams went 5-12 — the worst finish for a defending champion.
McVay ultimately elected to remain with Los Angeles for 2023. And he told reporters on Friday that it wasn’t a one-year decision.
“You want to make sure you’re making a decision … for years to come,” McVay said in a pre-free agency video conference, via Jourdan Rodrigue of TheAthletic.com. “I’m committed to not having this become ‘a story’ every year. I don’t take that lightly.”
Since becoming the Rams head coach in 2017, McVay has compiled a 60-38 record with a 7-3 postseason record. The Rams have been to a pair of Super Bowls, winning one.
When McVay arrived, the Rams hadn’t had a winning season since 2003 and hadn’t put together a .500 season since 2006. McVay referenced that first year in addressing his mentality heading into what could be a challenging 2023.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” McVay said, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press, “but similar to when we first got here in 2017, we’re excited about rolling up our sleeves and getting to work and figuring out how we can be as competitive as possible.”
After going 4-12 in 2016 — their last year under head coach Jeff Fisher and interim head coach John Fassel — the Rams went 11-5 and won the NFC West in McVay’s first year of 2017.