Every time Marist High School football coach Alan Chadwick sees Sean McVay on television, he doesn’t hesitate to let those around him know that he used to coach the guy on the screen.
McVay left a lasting impression on the football paths that he’s crossed. He’s currently got his hands all over the Los Angeles Rams’ revitalization.
“His expertise as a coach,” Chadwick said. “He’s studied, he’s worked hard and he’s learned. He’s incorporated everything he’s learned all the way through and has come up with a real good system that fits that personnel that he has. And secondly, I knew this from the beginning, that he was gonna be a great players coach, that players were gonna love playing for him and they are gonna play hard for him.
“He’s gonna fight for his players and they are gonna know that he’s invested in his time and his efforts at his commitment to be the best that they can be and they bought into that. I think they want to come to work every day and play hard for him because the kind of person that he is.”
On Jan. 12, 2017, McVay became the youngest coach in NFL history. He was tasked with turning around a franchise fresh off a 4-12 season under the bright lights of Los Angeles. Early returns illustrate that the 31-year-old coach is off to a rousing start.
The Rams finished the regular season with a NFC West-best 11-5 record, a turnaround worthy of serious NFL Coach of the Year consideration. A modest McVay credits Los Angeles’ entire coaching staff for the transformation.
“You know, the first thing is when you get in a role like that is that you want to hire a bunch of great coaches to work with and we feel very fortunate that’s what we’ve done,” McVay said. “Whether if it be offense, defense or special teams, we’ve got a bunch of great leaders on our coaching staff.”
McVay’s climbed the NFL ladder in expeditious fashion. His father, Tim, acknowledged that he’s even surprised at how fast his son’s moved up the coaching ranks.
“I know how long and tough any career path usual is, and he was really fortunate to move along real quick,” Tim McVay said.
McVay might even be a tad perplexed at how quickly he’s become a head coach. The reality is, the foundation was set at an early age. Building blocks just needed to be cemented.
Growing up, McVay had successful football examples in front of him. In fact, it was in his DNA. His grandfather, John, won five Super Bowls as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. His father, Tim, played college football at Indiana.
“It had an immense impact on him,” Tim McVay said of his son being around high-level football at a young age. “Back in that time, the San Francisco 49ers were a model franchise on how you did things right. From the front office, to the player selection, the coaching and execution. They were a fantastic organization to observe and learn from. Because at the time they were the best in the business.
“(Sean) learned a tremendous amount just observing even as a young kid because he would soak all this stuff in. You observe it but you’re watching and you say ‘Hey this is what it takes and this is how it looks to be successful coaching a team or running a team.’”
Like father, like son. McVay echoes his father’s sentiments.
“They were instrumental,” McVay said. “I’ve grown up in a football family and it’s never been something that was ever pushed on me, but something that I always just kind of drawn to the game and the competitive nature and all the different and various aspects about it from playing. When I got done playing in college, I didn’t exactly know it was coaching or personnel, but I knew I wanted to be involved in football in some form or fashion.”
Making a career out of football was a natural transition. He’d been around football for the majority of his life. From growing up with football bloodlines, being the starting quarterback on Marist’s 2003 Class AAAA state championship team, to playing wide receiver at Miami of Ohio. Career assessment tests would put coaching or sports management at the top of his final analysis chart.
Jon Gruden, a family friend, got Sean involved in professional football right away. Shortly after Sean finished his college career, Gruden gave a 22-year-old, still wet behind the ears, the chance of a lifetime to be a coaching assistant on his staff for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. The relationship between the McVays and Grudens dates all the way back to 1969 when John McVay was a head coach at the University of Dayton and Jim Gruden (Jon’s father) was an assistant coach on his staff.
Almost 40 years later, it came full circle.
McVay seized the opportunity and swiftly climbed up the ranks.
On Saturday night, against the Falcons, McVay will be at the helm for the Rams first playoff appearance in 13 years. It figures to be a surreal experience. He will coach against his hometown Falcons near the pinnacle of the sport. He grew up about 30 minutes from the now demolished Georgia Dome, a place he used to frequent. He is thrilled to formulate a game plan against his childhood team and coach against Dan Quinn, whom he’s developed a close relationship.
Sean’s grandfather, father and mother, Cindy, will be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday when McVay becomes the youngest to coach an NFL playoff game.
Roughly 2,200 miles east, Chadwick will be in a much more intimate environment. One of the most accomplished high school football coaches in Georgia history will probably be surrounded by Marist alum. And he’ll be sure to let them know he used to coach that guy on the television screen.
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