Rams COO on Sean McVay: ‘There are times I hear Jon Gruden’

As with every new head coaching hire, a team’s front office will wax on about how great of a hire said coach was, and how that coach is the perfect fit for the organization.

But when you begin comparing a rookie head coach, one who is younger than players currently on your roster, to a Super Bowl winning coach ears begin to perk up. Enter Sean McVay, a wunderkind who the Rams COO offhandedly compared to Jon Gruden during his introductory press conference Friday.

McVay had been the leader of an efficient Washington offense, and his hiring to be Jeff Fisher’s successor was seen as a major coup by some.

With an offensive background that includes developing Kirk Cousins into an upper-tier quarterback, McVay was a  hot name in coaching circles and is officially the youngest head coach in NFL History.

And now in his introductory presser, the Rams front office just can not stop gushing about McVay — for good reason.

With the hiring of Wade Phillips as his defensive coordinator, McVay can allow Phillips to control the defensive side of the ball. This gives him the freedom to manage the offense and grow into the CEO role most head coaches carry.

Phillips, one of the greatest defensive minds the NFL will ever see, was one of the biggest hires the Rams could make aside from hiring McVay. Wes Phillips, Wade’s son, worked alongside McVay in Washington and was likely one person pushing for his father to join McVay in Los Angeles.

Phillips get’s the best defensive tackle in the NFL to work with, and McVay gets an elite running back as well as an offense with talent in multiple positions to work with.

This is easily a dream come true for a franchise that just had Jeff Fisher at the helm for multiple seasons.