Sean McVay so tired of losing to Jimmy G that he signed him to Rams

If you want to earn the respect of LA Rams head coach Sean McVay, you simply need to beat him in a football game. Sounds easy enough, right? Well after seven NFL seasons as head coach of the LA Rasm, McVay's career record is 70 wins and 45 losses. That averages out to 10 wins and 6.5 losses per year. That's a perennial playoff team.

But McVay has struggled to defeat a few NFL personalities over the span of his career. He struggled against Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. That struggle left such an impression on McVay that he eventually hired Fangio's understudy, OLB Coach Brandon Staley, to become his Defensive Coordinator in 2020. That year, the Rams put up the statistically best defense in the NFL.

So yes, there is something to be said about the old adage: "If you can't beat them, join them." that seems to dictate who Sean McVay wants to associate with as far as his coaching staff. Now, it seems that the rule of thumb applies to signing his backup quarterback as well. The Rams signed former San Francisco starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as their backup QB in 2024.

The LA Rams have been competing against their NFL West Division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, for what seems like forever. But since hiring McVay as their head coach in 2017, the Rams have a record of 4-8 against the 49ers in the regular season and 1-0 in the NFL Playoffs. But did you know that former 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo holds a winning streak that is 8-0 against the Rams?

Is this new to the NFL?

It's a common professional sports team tactic

While signing that guy that beats you may not be a common practice in the NFL, it's quite common in other major professional sports. NHL teams often sign a veteran goalie that they struggle to score against. So too do MLB teams sign pitchers who seem to have their number in terms of ERA. Even NBA teams will try to sign the guys who seem to put up a ton of points against their teams.

HC Sean McVay has simply adapted some of the practices that have been proven to be rather successful in other professional sports. If you remove the "Jimmy G factor" from McVay's record as Rams head coach, it improves to 70 wins and just 37 losses.

Perhaps as many claim, other backup quarterback options were better suited for this offense. But one thing is clear. As long as Jimmy Garoppolo is on this roster, the Rams cannot lose to him. In the end, that may have been part of the strategy of signing him all along.