In the lead up to Super Bowl LVI this past weekend, there were rumors that young Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay might hang up his head set for a career in the media.
Despite the 36-year-old’s success on the sideline, he did not seem too committed to a long-term future in coaching. A lot of that has to do with his fiancee and future wife Veronika Khomyn, who McVay wants to start a family with after their wedding this coming summer.
Fresh off seeing her beau lead the Rams to the Super Bowl title over the Cincinnati Bengals, it appears that Khomyn is shooting down any rumors of retirement.
That pretty much ends any speculation of Sean McVay moving on from the Rams after five darn successful seasons as their head coach.
All of this comes with star defensive tackle Aaron Donald noting during the Super Bowl parade earlier in the week that he wants to “run it back” with the Rams. Mere minutes before the big game started on Sunday, rumors leaked that Donald was also considering retirement.
Is Sean McVay going to be with the Los Angeles Rams long-term?
Rumors of McVay’s retirement didn’t come out of left field. He talked ahead of the Super Bowl about balancing what it takes to be a successful head coach and starting a family with his better half. There were no cryptic messages in McVay’s stance.
“I love this so much that it’s such a passion but I also know that what I’ve seen from some of my closest friends, whether it’s coaches or even some of our players, I’m gonna be married this summer, I want to have a family and I think being able to find that balance but also be able to give the time necessary,” McVay said. “I have always had a dream about being able to be a father and I can’t predict the future, you know? I jokingly say that.
“I don’t really know. I know I love football and I’m so invested in this thing and I’m in the moment right now. But at some point, too, if you said what do you want to be able to do? I want to be able to have a family and I want to be able to spend time with them.”
Sean McVay on balancing football and personal life (February 11, 2022)
These are the personal decisions players and coaches go through that are sometimes lost on fans around the football world.
McVay is just 36 years old. He’s about to start a new life with Veronika Khomyn. They want to have kids. He has legitimate concerns over how being an NFL head coach would impact that. His own personal experience plays a role here, too.
McVay’s grandfather, John, was a longtime head coach and general manager around the NFL. The Super Bowl-winning Rams coach knows how that impacted his dad’s decision to not get into the family business.
“I also know how much time is taken away during these months of the year and I saw that growing up. He has such a special relationship with my grandpa who was a coach and in personnel but one of the things that prevented him from getting into coaching was, ‘Man, I had such a great relationship but my dad missed out on a lot of the things’ but didn’t want to do that with me and my little brother.”
Sean McVay on the family dynamics of coaching (Februry 11, 2022)
For his part, McVay is in line for a contract extension this summer. His current deal runs through only the 2023 season. How said extension looks (or whether it’s even signed) could tell us a lot about the head coach’s future in Southern California.
In five seasons as the Rams’ head coach, McVay has posted a stellar 55-26 record. He led the team to the NFC Championship in 2018 before getting over the hump and winning the title this past season.