How much of a difference did Andy Benoit make in LA Rams SB victory?

Funny how little things get noticed, forgotten, and then come rushing back to the forefront. Such is the case, almost on an annual basis, for the LA Rams and the little-noticed transactions that eventually and ultimately seem to carry more weight in the outcome than originally suspected.

In the summer of 2021, a minor news item regarding the LA Rams front office hiring of Andy Benoit was reported. At the time, the news was a bit of a minor blip in the course of events, as Benoit’s role with the Rams organization was a bit undefined.

Well, we have that role defined now. Andy Benoit is listed as a Football Analyst on the LA Rams’ official website. While that title is defined, the meaning of duties assigned remains ambiguous. So why am I revisiting this hire a year later? At the time, Peter Schrager, Senior National Writer for Fox Sports and host of Good Morning Football cited an article that Andy Benoit had written for Sports Illustrated about then offensive coordinator Sean McVay.

A new chapter for the LA Rams

Now, here is where things get very interesting.

Benoit is working for the LA Rams, in a role that has been described in many forms and fashions. But he has been cited as a direct supporting staff to Rams head coach Sean McVay. And that direct support is about making the Rams head coach more effective at his job.

With Rams head coach Sean McVay now 36 years of age and just married, his ability to live out of his office is a thing of the past. He will need to put his pencil down at a far more reasonable hour and go home. But McVay is a perfectionist, a man who is driven to succeed and who is more than happy to accept the responsibility of dotting every ‘i’ and crossing every ‘t’ along the way.

What if he no longer has the time to do so? That will mean that he has to delegate. That process began in 2021, with the hiring of Benoit to highlight areas that were most in need of McVay’s direct attention. Now, the addition of Jay Gruden gives the Rams additional mental muscle to sort through what needs to be done, and how to go about doing so.

What does this mean? Well, the LA Rams added Andy Benoit to the staff and the Rams proceeded to win Super Bowl LVI. Cause and effect? Perhaps that’s overstating the causal relationship. But it was a contributing factor.  From my perspective, I’m good with anything that leads to the LA Rams repeating as Super Bowl Champions.

Is this a factor? I can’t rule it out.