McVay mulls immediate future; not ‘done coaching’

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Sean McVay said he will take time before deciding his future with the Los Angeles Rams, but quarterback Matthew Stafford reiterated that he has no plans to retire — regardless of the Super Bowl-winning coach’s decision.

In his end-of-season news conference on Monday, McVay spoke at length about why he plans to take the “appropriate time” to make a decision on his future to figure out “the best way to continue to move forward in the right way to be the best coach that you can possibly be.”

“Because I don’t get the sense in the least bit I’m done coaching,” McVay said. “It’s just a matter of what does that look like as it relates to the immediate future is more about what you’re really working through right now.”

McVay, who signed an extension last offseason, is under contract through the 2026 season. Stafford, who signed a contract extension through the 2026 season in March, said McVay’s decision would not have an effect on his desire to continue to play.

Stafford, who ended the season on injured reserve with a spinal cord contusion and twice spent time in the concussion protocol, said he didn’t really think about retiring while dealing with the injuries and feels “really comfortable and confident in moving forward.”

McVay said he didn’t want to put a timeline on when he’d determine his path toward the future but said he doesn’t want to “rush into any sort of decision.”

“There’s a lot of emotion right after the season,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of layers to this. There’s a lot of people that it does affect that I don’t take lightly and want to be mindful of. And so I’m going to take the next couple days to really be able to kind of reflect.”

The toughest part about the decision, McVay said, is “the amount of people that are affected.”

“And then just being able to identify the things that will give you that clarity and that peace, while also continuing to acknowledge the things that need to be addressed as you’re trying to become a better and more complete person,” McVay said.

The Rams’ 5-12 record under McVay is the worst since he was hired in Los Angeles in 2017, and this season was his first losing season as a head coach. Still, he made it clear that this thought process is not just because of the challenges of this season, but something that “has been years” in the making.

“This isn’t a new thing,” McVay said. “This has been something that I think has gone on for those of you guys that know me, for a handful of years. But it’s a beautiful challenge. I wouldn’t change any part of this. And I know this too: A lot of the reflection is based on the culmination of years.”

McVay said what he really appreciates through this whole process has been the “unconditional support” from the franchise.

“Whether it be with Mr. Kroenke or [general manager] Les [Snead] or [VP of football and business administration] Tony [Pastoors] or [COO] Kevin [Demoff], there’s an unconditional support of they want what’s best for me,” McVay said. “And I think in such a challenging business and such a challenging circumstance and situation in a competitive business, that might not always be the case.

“But I do know that with the six years of experience that I’ve accumulated with these guys, you can really feel that. In some instances, it almost creates more challenges. But you are so grateful, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of the unconditional support that I feel from Mr. Kroenke and from those guys as it relates to how we move forward accordingly.”