Matthew Stafford faces his moment of truth on MNF

Coaching staff risks

The driving force that made this all happen is LA Rams head coach Sean McVay. We know the tale, don’t we? The LA Rams made a competitive offer, but the Detroit Lions were swayed with the offer from the Carolina Panthers, who offered not only quarterback Teddy Bridgewater but a Top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Feeling that the chance to acquire an ideal quarterback for the LA Rams offense was slipping away, McVay himself lobbied team owner Stan Kroenke for the authority to sweeten the Rams offer. Kroenke approved the maneuver, and the LA Rams trade package for Stafford suddenly swelled to QB Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick.

That was quite a risk taken by the LA Rams head coach, Sean McVay. How so?

McVay goes All-In

McVay has been an incredibly successful NFL head coach, from the moment he arrived at the LA Rams organization, he has been incredibly successful. So successful, that if he keeps his head down, doesn’t take unnecessary risks, he is practically guaranteed to be the head coach of the Rams for many years to come.

But playing it safe and Sean McVay is seldom mentioned in the same sentence.  McVay knows that the window for winning it all is a fleeting thing in the NFL. He understands that the level of talent on the Rams roster is set on a timer. At some point, the team cannot afford to pay everyone what they truly are worth. At some point, the talent pipeline of new young prospects cannot replicate the talent of outbound veterans. Even holding together a talented coaching staff is nearly impossible, as each year unsuccessful teams pry away coaches from successful teams.

McVay knows all of this and understands that the risk of trying to build a winner attracts the risk of failure. It’s a footrace. And to win, McVay understood that he had to put his reputation at risk too.