How Sean McVay of LA Rams became the youngest NFL head coach

"He understood all the offense and he was a great leader," said Montgomery.

But McVay's father, Tim, told The Washington Post that his son did not always say whether he wanted to coach or not. "It looked like any student, wondering:" What am I going to do when I come out of college? "

After graduating in 2008, McVay made contact with his long-time friend, Jon Gruden, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He offered McVay a beginner position on the team as a gopher.

"How many kids can be hired directly into the NFL right after graduation?" Tim said. "Not much." Suddenly, boom, he came in, working as Jon's badistant, he kissed her.

When Gruden was fired from his post in 2010, McVay granted an interview to then-head coach Washington Redskins Mike Shanahan. Shanahan was looking for an badistant coach and told the Washington Post that immediately after his interview with McVay, he knew that he was good for the job.

He says McVay has worked hard to understand the game even better, "interviewing other coaches about blitzes, protection systems and secondary alignments".

"He would ask questions at a young age that most people would not ask," Shanahan said. "He wanted to know the why of everything."

The same year, Jon Embree, the Washington coach, left his post and Shanahan promoted McVay, who had just celebrated his 25th birthday.

"The first month or so, I thought he was a little scholar boy or a genius boy," said Chris Cooley, a former close to Washington, about McVay. But after working with the young coach for a few months, Cooley said that he had quickly learned that he "was a special case in the football community."

McVay spent three years leading the Washington attack before taking his current position as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. At the time, he had only 30 years, three years younger than the league's oldest coach, Pete. Carroll, who has already worked with McVay's grandfather.

In his short term as head coach, McVay has turned Rams 4 to 12 times into a winning team that has more than a match to play for the Super Bowl.

Although his age is a surprise to many, McVay players say it's his sensible approach that makes their team so effective.

"He [knows] about the business, "said ESPN cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman," and [knows] when it's time to play. "

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