LOS ANGELES – Sean McVay seemed and sounded very very similar to someone who had been up all night time celebrating his first Tremendous Bowl victory when the coach confirmed up early Monday morning to debate his Los Angeles Rams’ hometown coronation.
“It is an unbelievable honor to be right here,” McVay mentioned, his sandpaper rasp accentuating his sarcasm. “It is also torturous to have a workforce win a championship after which make you come the subsequent morning to a press convention this early.”
With the Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, McVay has lastly reached the fruits of a journey he started in early 2017 because the youngest head coach in fashionable NFL historical past. Simply over 5 years later, the 36-year-old can be the youngest coach to win a Tremendous Bowl — and the journey left him exhausted, however thrilled.
McVay mentioned nothing Monday about the potential of strolling away from soccer quickly, because the burnout-prone coach has advised when requested about it over time. However he didn’t sound like he was completed along with his work on a workforce he constructed right into a champion.
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“I’ve been surrounded by nice individuals,” McVay mentioned. “Whenever you get round nice gamers, nice coaches which can be all dedicated and dealing in the identical path, pulling that rope in the identical path, good issues can occur. When you may have the proper foundational items … due to these guys’ success, different individuals get alternatives to develop.”
Aaron Donald additionally hit his profession’s peak by making the decisive defensive play on Cincinnati’s ultimate snap, harassing Joe Burrow right into a fourth-down incompletion to complete a Tremendous Bowl efficiency that included two sacks. The three-time AP Defensive Participant of the 12 months lastly has his first ring — and the 30-year-old star additionally sidestepped questions on early retirement instantly after the victory.
Rams chief working officer Kevin Demoff says the workforce will wait till its celebrations die down to determine how severe McVay and Donald are about beginning life after soccer, however he’s optimistic they’ll each be again.
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“I feel all of those guys are wiped,” Demoff mentioned. “Whenever you get thus far, the gasoline tank is empty and also you’re sitting there holding a trophy. I feel that’s daunting to a point while you get up this morning and understand you’ve bought to go do it once more, and also you don’t have the vitality. So I feel the speak is definitely pure.
“And I’d agree. I don’t suppose Sean’s present tempo is sustainable when it comes to how a lot work he places in if you wish to have a household. However I feel the one factor, these guys all love soccer. They love being round one another. … These are all pure questions which can be laborious to reply within the second. A month away, two months away from everyone, and I feel issues will really feel so much higher.”
Not even a Tremendous Bowl championship affected Rams proprietor Stan Kroenke’s career-long reluctance to talk publicly about his many sports activities groups, however Demoff mentioned the billionaire who constructed SoFi Stadium was “happier than I’ve ever seen him” after elevating his first Lombardi Trophy.
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“He took the 2 largest dangers within the NFL that I can consider within the final decade,” Demoff mentioned. “Shopping for land to construct a stadium, hoping to get the chance to develop into the Los Angeles Rams once more, and hiring a 30-year-old head coach when everyone wished a significant title. These two dangers culminated final night time with unbelievable reward.”
The Rams have accomplished every little thing massive since Kroenke relocated them to Los Angeles from his native Missouri six years in the past. Touchdown in a glamorous city that had largely forgotten them, the Rams bought everyone’s consideration once more by creating an urge for food for dangers and stocking their roster with veteran stars.
A lot of these stars performed key roles within the Rams’ sixteenth and ultimate victory. From Donald and Von Miller to Matthew Stafford and Tremendous Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles’ massive names loomed giant within the grand finale.
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“There have been so many guys on this workforce which have simply revered this sport, have put within the work and the time,” mentioned Kupp, who seemed much less aggravated than his boss to be awake shortly after dawn. “That was an enormous factor coming into this. So many guys simply mentioned, ‘Hey, we have got guys right here that deserve a Tremendous Bowl. We have got to win this for them.’”
It occurred one final time within the Tremendous Bowl when Cincinnati scored 17 consecutive factors to take a 20-13 lead a number of minutes into the third quarter. The Rams’ offense managed simply three factors from seven consecutive possessions earlier than its ultimate drive — a 15-play, 79-yard imperfect masterpiece ending in Kupp’s 1-yard TD catch.
“We speak so much about simply having the ability to do your job,” Kupp mentioned. “We went by way of just a little little bit of a lull there main into halftime and thru that third quarter. We simply wanted to maintain pushing and maintain trusting within the particulars of issues.”
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The Rams saved the get together going at Disneyland later Monday, and so they’ll get a victory parade in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Free company is simply 4 weeks away, and the Rams should make selections on a number of key gamers: Miller, receiver Odell Beckham Jr., beginning cornerback Darious Williams, offensive linemen Brian Allen and Austin Corbett, and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day. They’re additionally ready for Andrew Whitworth’s decision on retirement.
However Kupp had a assured reply when requested if he thought the Rams might develop into the primary NFL workforce in almost 20 years to repeat.
“Definitely,” he mentioned. “In case you’re going right into a season and did not suppose you might win all of it, it could be a fairly miserable place to play from.”
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Extra AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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