Sean McVay’s experience will greatly benefit Rams in weak NFC

Just about everyone has written off the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the 2023 season. Not a surprising development in the slightest for anyone who has paid attention to the team’s rough offseason. However, head coaching experience will matter in such a weak conference and that’s a crucial aspect that NFL analysts have overlooked about LA.

Sean McVay is tied with the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan for being the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFC. McVay and Shanahan have each led their respective squads for six years, behind only Seattle’s Pete Carroll who has been with the Seahawks for 13 seasons. Carroll might currently be the longest tenured head coach in the conference but that doesn’t mean he’s the most experienced.

Instead, that title belongs to Mike McCarthy who has been an HC for a grand total of 16 years, 13 with the Packers and three in Dallas. If we again just looked at experience alone, Washington’s Ron Rivera would join Carroll and McCarthy as the only coaches with at least 12 years experience. Problem with Rivera is that he’s the most underachieving of all.

The NFC has five coaches who have been with their teams for a season and only has one rookie head coach. Thankfully he’s in the division with Arizona and teeing off on the Cardinals is one thing to look forward to this season. Of the conference’s 16 coaches, 11 have been to the playoffs at one point in their careers and six have gone all the way to the Super Bowl. McCarthy, Carroll and McVay are the only three that have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

Life in the NFC West is going to be ridiculously tough this year as the division boasts 25 years of coaching experience between McVay, Carroll and Shanahan. All three have made five Super Bowl trips with McVay and Carroll being the only ones to win a ring. I would say poor Jonathan Gannon but he should’ve known he was in for a rough ride when he accepted the Cardinals job.

Regardless of how the Rams look now, expectations of them might change once the new season begins. McVay is the brightest spot on a young team that needs guidance. Sure LA still has the core of Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald but for how long? The team needs a leader that’ll endure long after that core is gone.

Luckily for the Rams, Sean McVay is that leader and his coaching expertise will lead LA through murky waters for years to come.