Doc Rivers on Sean McVay: Very few young coaches are as secure as him

A month after Doc Rivers spoke to LA Rams players as a guest speaker, the LA Clippers head coach wanted to open his mouth for something else football-related: to praise Rams head coach Sean McVay. In an interview with the LA Times, Rivers said that McVay’s “ability to say the right thing at the right time” is “absolutely amazing” and that he’s a “gift” to the Rams franchise.

“His ability to say the right thing at the right time, for someone as young as him, to see the big picture, to be selfless, is absolutely amazing. Very few young coaches are as secure as him. Meaning, they lose in the Super Bowl and he took it on himself. ‘Guys, that was my fault, I have to do better.’

“I love him. I love listening to him. he’s one of those guys — there’s a lot of coaches, but he’s one for me—you’re walking by the TV and you see him talk and you stop and turn the sound up. Because he’s going to say something that you can use later.”

Doc Rivers was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1983, three years before Sean McVay was born. He played for the LA Clippers for one season, 91-92, and retired in 1996. He was hired by the Orlando Magic as head coach in 1999, going 41-41 during his rookie coaching campaign, and in 2008 he coached the Boston Celtics to an NBA Championship.

Rivers began coaching the Clippers in 2013 and this season was to be their most likely championship season in franchise history until the pandemic shutdown; LA has not even reached a conference finals in any of their 50 seasons as an NBA team. Perhaps that will change if and when the NBA season resumes.

McVay has been one of the lucky American head coaches, as the NFL hasn’t had to deal with any cancelled or postponed games at this point thanks to the offseason. It has instead presented him and other coaches unprecedented offseason challenges, but if you want to have faith that McVay and his staff are handling it as best as they can, talk to Doc Rivers.