Who is Sean McVay? Get to know the Rams’ young head coach

Tadd Haislop

Who is Sean McVay? Get to know the Rams’ young head coach image

Sean McVay is the youngest coach in the NFL, so it's impressive enough that his Rams team is among the best in the league and has won the NFC West in each of his first two seasons with Los Angeles.

Even more impressive: A few days after McVay turned 33 this year, the Rams reached Super Bowl 53, making him the youngest NFL coach ever to get his team to a Super Bowl. LA lost that game, of course, but the coaching prodigy's impact will be felt for years to come.

McVay's rise in NFL coaching came with unprecedented speed. Right out of college from Miami (Ohio) University, the former wide receiver took a job as an assistant WR coach with the Buccaneers in 2008. A short decade later, he joined the Rams as head coach and catalyzed the biggest offensive turnaround in NFL history.

Now it seems Los Angeles will be a perpetual contender in the league as long as McVay is at the helm. Here is all you need to know about the youngest coach in the NFL.

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Who is Sean McVay? Facts about the Rams coach 

  • 33 years old
  • 11 years of NFL coaching experience
  • From Dayton, Ohio
  • Hired as Rams coach in January 2017
  • 2017 Sporting News coach of the year
  • Youngest coach ever to win AP Coach of the Year (2017)
  • Grandfather John is in 49ers Hall of Fame
  • Ranked 17th on Fortune Magazine’s world’s greatest leaders top-50 list in 2018

Sean McVay age: How old is the Rams' coach?

At 33, McVay is the youngest coach in the NFL — by far.

The next youngest coach in the league is the 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, a division rival of McVay's Rams. Shanahan will turn 40 in December. McVay will turn 34 in January.

When McVay was hired by the Rams at age 30 in 2017, he became the youngest head coach in modern NFL history. Two years later, of course, he was the youngest head coach ever to get his team to a Super Bowl.

In that title game, McVay coached against the Patriots' Bill Belichick, who many believe is the greatest coach of all time. For some perspective, Belichick was hired by New England three days after McVay turned 14. Belichick's coaching career began as a Colts assistant in 1975, almost a full decade before McVay was born.

Sean McVay girlfriend, family life

In June, McVay became engaged to girlfriend Veronika Khomyn, a Ukrainian model.

According to TMZ, the two began dating "somewhere around 2011," when McVay was an assistant coach with the Redskins and Khomyn was a student at nearby George Mason University.

Khomyn-McVay-100319-Getty-FTR.jpg

To say McVay's family carries a strong football pedigree would be an understatement.

His grandfather John was the vice president/director of football operations for the 49ers from 1983-94. He helped San Francisco win five Super Bowls and was inducted into the 49ers Hall of Fame in 2013. John McVay also was Dayton's head football coach from 1965-72.

Sean McVay's father Tim played defensive back at Indiana. His uncle John also played football at Miami (Ohio).

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Where is Sean McVay from?

McVay was born in Dayton, Ohio. His family moved to Georia when he was young, and he played football for Marist High School in Brookhaven, Ga. A four-year starter at Marist as a quarterback and defensive back, McVay became the first player in school history to amass 1,000 yards rushing and passing in consecutive seasons.

As a senior, McVay led Marist to a 14-1 record and a state championship. He was named the Georgia 4A Offensive Player of the Year ... over Calvin Johnson.

In college, McVay played wide receiver at Miami (Ohio) from 2004-07, earning the program's scholar-athlete award in 2007. Below are his career college receiving stats.

Year Class Games Rec. Yards TDs
2004 Redshirt - - - -
2005 Fr. 6 1 6 0
2006 So. 12 20 198 0
2007 Jr. 8 18 108 0
Career - 26 39 312 0

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Sean McVay's salary with the Rams

McVay's salary with the Rams remains undisclosed, as do the contracts of the majority of NFL coaches.

When he was hired in 2017, he was given an average annual salary of $4 million. However the Rams gave McVay a contract extension in July that keeps him in Los Angeles through 2023 and bumped his pay.

According to NFL.com, McVay's contract puts him "in the upper echelon of NFL head coaches in terms of compensation."

For reference, Belichick is believed to be the NFL's highest-paid coach at an estimated $12.5 million per year.

Sean McVay teams coached

McVay didn't waste any time after he graduated from Miami (Ohio) in 2008. That year, he joined the Buccaneers as an assistant wide receivers coach.

In 2009, McVay left the NFL for a job with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. The Tuskers that year finished a perfect 6-0 before losing in the UFL’s inaugural championship game.

McVay returned to the NFL in 2010 for a job with the Redskins. He stayed with Washington until 2017, when he was hired as Rams head coach.

Below is McVay's full coaching history.

Year(s) Team Position
2008 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Asst. wide receivers coach
2009 Florida Tuskers Wide receivers coach
2010 Washington Redskins Asst. tight ends coach
2011-13 Washington Redskins Tight ends coach
2014-16 Washington Redskins Offensive coordinator
2017- Los Angeles Rams Head coach

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Rams head coach history

When Rams owner/chairman Stan Kroenke named McVay the team's head coach on Jan. 12, 2017, he became the 23rd full-time head coach in franchise history.

In his first season as Rams coach, McVay completed one of the greatest offensive turnarounds in NFL history; helped LA go from the 32nd-ranked scoring offense in 2016 to the league’s top-scoring team in 2017, marking the first time in league history a team has gone from last to first in scoring.

In the history of the Rams, who have been located in Cleveland, St. Louis and Los Angeles over the years, only three head coaches have won championships. Adam Walsh and Joe Stydahar won NFL titles in 1945 and 1951, respectively, and Dick Vermeil won a Super Bowl in 1999.

Below is the entire coaching history of the Cleveland/St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams.

Coach Start End Games Wins Losses Ties W-L% Playoff games Playoff wins Playoff losses Championships/Super Bowls
Sean McVay 2017 - 36 27 9 0 .750 4 2 2 0
John Fassel 2016 2016 3 0 3 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Jeff Fisher 2012 2016 77 31 45 1 .409 0 0 0 0
Steve Spagnuolo 2009 2011 48 10 38 0 .208 0 0 0 0
Jim Haslett 2008 2008 12 2 10 0 .167 0 0 0 0
Scott Linehan 2006 2008 36 11 25 0 .306 0 0 0 0
Joe Vitt 2005 2005 11 4 7 0 .364 0 0 0 0
Mike Martz 2000 2005 85 53 32 0 .624 7 3 4 0
Dick Vermeil 1997 1999 48 22 26 0 .458 3 3 0 1
Rich Brooks 1995 1996 32 13 19 0 .406 0 0 0 0
John Robinson 1983 1991 143 75 68 0 .524 10 4 6 0
Ray Malavasi 1978 1982 73 40 33 0 .548 6 3 3 0
Chuck Knox 1973 1994 118 69 48 1 .589 8 3 5 0
Tommy Prothro 1971 1972 28 14 12 2 .537 0 0 0 0
George Allen 1966 1970 70 49 17 4 .742 2 0 2 0
Harland Svare 1962 1965 48 14 31 3 .311 0 0 0 0
Bob Waterfield 1960 1962 34 9 24 1 .273 0 0 0 0
Sid Gillman 1955 1959 60 28 31 1 .475 1 0 1 0
Hampton Pool 1952 1954 35 23 10 2 .697 1 0 1 0
Joe Stydahar 1950 1952 25 17 8 0 .680 3 2 1 1
Clark Shaughnessy 1948 1949 24 14 7 3 .667 1 0 1 0
Bob Snyder 1947 1947 12 6 6 0 .500 0 0 0 0
Adam Walsh 1945 1946 21 15 5 1 .750 1 1 0 1
Aldo Donelli 1944 1944 10 4 6 0 .400 0 0 0 0
Dutch Clark 1939 1942 44 16 26 2 .381 0 0 0 0
Art Lewis 1938 1938 8 4 4 0 .500 0 0 0 0
Hugo Bezdek 1937 1938 14 1 13 0 .071 0 0 0 0

Tadd Haislop

Tadd Haislop is the Associate NFL Editor at SportingNews.com.