Raheem Morris: "Man, I am jealous of your (McVay's) and Les Snead's relationship"
By Bret Stuter
What is the secret sauce of success for the LA Rams? If you look at the roster, you may conclude that it has a lot to do with the presence of All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald, and perhaps the furious carnage caused by young rising star inside linebacker Ernest Jones.
If you focus on the offensive side of the football, you could conclude that it is the presence of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, and his chemistry with All-Pro WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. You may even slide some credit over to young RB Kyren Williams, OLB Byron Young, or even NT Kobie Turner.
The true reasons why the team has been buoyed with enough success to appear in two Super Bowls and five playoff appearances over the past seven year is far simpler than all that. GM Les Snead and HC Sean McVay have distinct separation of powers and each respects the ability of the other well enough to allow the organization to flourish under their combined oversight.
That is not a typical set up in an NFL team. Oftentimes, there is a power struggle to wrest complete control from one or the other to determine the future of the team. But that can lead to spreading one person too far. And it's something that veteran Coach Raheem Morris took careful notes about throughout his three years with the Rams organization.
"When you're 32 years old, you've got all the answers.What you find out is there's a learning process every single day. And you better be able to lean on people."
- Raheem Morris re: lessons from Rams
You can catch the excerpt from the embedded video below, and the funny thing is, he's not wrong:
The team has been cycling through a repetitive cycle that falls in three-year intervals. If the team adheres to that cycle in 2024, it will be Year 3 of their third 3-year cycle. the year that results in the team appearing in and competing in the NFL Championship Game, also known as the Super Bowl.
Well, that's just how the team rolls with Les Snead and Sean McVay at the helm. Perhaps I am guilty of taking that special symbiosis between McVay and Snead for granted. They certainly do not. When McVay wanted to extend Goff in 2019, only to want him off the team less than 18 months later, Snead did not have a come-to-Jesus meeting with the head coach as to why that was both foolish and impractical. When McVay was debating his future with the team, Snead encouraged him to take as long as he needed, and assured that the team would welcome him back when he was willing to return.
Likewise, when Snead informed McVay that the team had to reset the roster, shedding a host of lucrative contracts and key players, Snead did not resign from the team. He trusted Snead, and eventually rediscovered his passion for football after the General Manager surrounded him with a myriad of young players who love to play the game.
When one stumbles, the other is there to pick him back up.
That is what Coach Raheem Morris learned during his three years with the team, and what he hopes to replicate with the Atlanta Falcons.