Following Thursday’s 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Rams head coach Sean McVay wanted to hand out only one game ball in the locker room. He promised one to Ethan Evans on Monday for his pinning punt under the two-minute warning, and one to the offensive line for how they cleaned up the aggressive Vikings pass rush.
But McVay wanted to pass out just one game ball Thursday night, to Matthew Stafford for passing Dan Marino for ninth all-time on the NFL’s completions list. He underhanded the ball to the quarterback, then left the circle of players to allow Stafford to break them out.
But Stafford called McVay back, and handed him the game ball. “I may have passed Marino,” Stafford said, “but 80th [expletive] win all-time as Rams head coach.”
Stafford was right: In his eighth season, at just 38, McVay had broken the Rams franchise record for most wins as head coach. He accepted the ball, and then, with a hoarse voice, cried out to the delight of his players, “On my son’s first birthday!”
You're gonna want to watch this whole video. 😭 pic.twitter.com/qoNnDk6day
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 25, 2024
McVay was hired by the Rams in 2017, at 30 the youngest head coach in the NFL’s modern era. The offensive philosophies he had developed as coordinator in Washington quickly translated to the Rams as he won AP NFL Coach of the Year in his first season. Soon, he was the youngest head coach to reach the Super Bowl (at 33) and the youngest to win a Super Bowl (at 36).
In his time with the Rams, McVay has accumulated an 80-53 record, including a 7-4 mark in the postseason. And he got to celebrate his record-breaking night on the same day as his son Jordan’s first birthday.
“It was incredibly special because you talk about real perspective, having a son and what he’s done and what he’s meant to me and my wife Veronika and just some of the different things that he’s provided where you’re just growing as a human,” McVay said. “It’s such a credit to players, coaches. Football’s the greatest team sport that there is. I’m sure proud to be a part of that and it was certainly a special night.”
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After McVay broke up the team Thursday night with a “1-2-3, family,” he and Stafford went into a hug, congratulating each other.
“I think that was a really cool thing for Matthew, it shows how selfless he is,” McVay said. “That was really cool of Matthew and I appreciated that.”