Former Redskins OC Sean McVay wins NFL Coach of the Year

In just his first year with the Los Angeles Rams, former Redskins offensive coordinator has been honored as the 2018 NFL Coach of the Year.

In 2016, the Rams’ first season back in Los Angeles after a long stay in St. Louis, the team went 4-12. Jeff Fisher was fired before the conclusion of that ill-fated campaign, and first overall pick Jared Goff didn’t invite confidence with his play. The Los Angeles Rams needed a flurry of excitement. A change of pace.

There were plenty of hot names in the coaching candidacy pool, including Kyle Shanahan, Sean McDermott, and Anthony Lynn. But the Los Angeles didn’t go for any of them. They went for a young, under-the-radar 31-year old out of Washington, D.C.

They went with Sean McVay. And now, just one year into what should be a very successful career, McVay has won the Coach of the Year award.

At 32 years old, McVay is the youngest coach in the modern NFL era to win the Coach of the Year award. The protege got his start in Washington, with the Redskins, where he molded Kirk Cousins into a franchise quarterback, and helped the offense find its footing after a spell of uncertainty at quarterback.

It was McVay’s play calling that spurned the Redskins playoff run in 2015, and it was that same genius that enabled his Los Angeles Rams to flip the script in 2017, nearly reciprocating their record from 2016. Jared Goff showed tremendous growth under McVay, throwing for 28 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in his second season, and Todd Gurley was an MVP candidate for the Rams.

McVay worked wonders for the Rams. It’s rare that a coach has that kind of ability. To get something out of his players that few others can match. McVay has a gift for coaching, and that is evident in his early success.

One would argue that perhaps the Redskins should have kept McVay and let Gruden go when teams came calling for McVay’s services. It’s a fair argument, but Cousins likely would have been gone anyway, forcing McVay to start over.

In Los Angeles, McVay has a recent No. 1 pick, an All-Pro running back, and a slew of offensive weapons at his disposal. And in 2017, he showed that he knows how to use them better than anybody.

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Congratulations, Sean McVay! Here’s to more success for the former Redskins offensive coordinator (unless he’s playing Washington in the NFC Championship, of course).