Rams Sean McVay is a coach on the rise, while the sun set on Jason Garrett long ago

The Los Angeles Rams may have the brightest of head coaches in Sean McVay, while Jason Garrett continues to nurture a reputation of underachiever enabled by owner Jerry Jones.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay isn’t on any hot seat. And despite what you often hear in NFL media circles, neither is Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, begging the question which coach needs the win on Saturday night more.

Perhaps to best answer that question, you have to look at what expectations are for both coaches in their respective cities.

Garrett, who has underachieved for what seems like forever, appears to have the support of owner Jerry Jones, who himself shares a good chunk of the blame for a franchise who has spent over two decades trading on the glory of yesteryear.

In Los Angeles, a franchise back now for three seasons, the sudden success also brings expectations. After a breakout year in 2017 where McVay took the Rams from 4-12 to 11-5 to now 13-3, a loss on Saturday night would make Los Angeles 0-2 in playoff appearances. Suddenly the question isn’t whether the Rams can win a Super Bowl but if they can simply win a playoff game.

As much as fans in LA may not like that, a loss to Dallas makes that a legitimate question.

For the Cowboys, it’s hard to imagine a win or loss moves the needle at all on the Garrett question. So long as Jones is content on hearing himself talk about potential, it’s hard to imagine the ginger goes anywhere except to training camp next season as the head coach.

Same deal in Los Angeles, as McVay isn’t going anywhere either with a loss. However, the difference is in the perception of both franchises and both coaches.

The Rams are on the rise, loaded with youth beginning with one of the brightest and now influential coaches in the league. He’s savvy, TV friendly, and at the helm of a team playing under the bright lights of Los Angeles. The expectation isn’t if he’ll win a Super Bowl but when.

That’s the expectation for McVay. That’s why Saturday looms larger for him than for Garrett. If Dallas loses, would anyone really be surprised? Would any Cowboy fan wake up to the news that Jerry came to his senses and moved on from a coach who should have been out of time a few seasons ago?

Not likely.

Jerry Jones is fine with a coach who serves as a buffer between his failings as a GM and the once great franchise the Cowboys used to be.

The difference between these organizations is that that the future is still bright and in front of McVay and the Los Angeles Rams organization, even with a loss Saturday night.

For Garrett and the Cowboys, a loss would only be another indication that the sun has set in Dallas and on their owner, who settled on the status quo a long time ago.