Rams could not wait for Kyle Shanahan with McVay in the wings

Rams could not wait for Kyle Shanahan with McVay in the wings

By Gary Klein

http://www.mcalesternews.com/sports/national_sports/rams-could-not-wait-for-kyle-shanahan-with-mcvay-in/article_6c354930-c620-5df9-b4ff-d1d85a03b483.html

HOUSTON — Two offensive coordinators for Super Bowl-bound teams were among those in the mix when the Los Angeles Rams began their coaching search.

The Rams interviewed New England’s Josh McDaniels. A snowstorm dashed a scheduled meeting with Atlanta’s Kyle Shanahan.

Ultimately, the Rams hired Sean McVay, making the 31-year-old the youngest coach in NFL history.

“Sean’s a great coach and a good friend of mine,” Shanahan said Monday night, “and he’ll do a hell of a job.”

Still, Rams fans will get a glimpse Sunday of what might have been when the Patriots play the Falcons in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium.

McDaniels, 40, helped the Patriots defeat the Rams, 26-10, at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 4. The Rams were among several teams that interviewed him, but he is expected to return to the Patriots next season.

Shanahan, 37, helped direct the Falcons to a 42-14 victory over the Rams in a Dec. 11 game that ended Jeff Fisher’s four-plus seasons as coach. Shanahan is the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers, though NFL policy forbids the team to announce the hire until after the Super Bowl.

“Nothing is set in stone until I get a chance to sit down and make something official,” Shanahan said, adding, “Once I do get that opportunity and things work out, it’s something I’ve waited for my whole life.”

The Rams apparently could not wait on Shanahan.

Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ vice president for football operations, General Manager Les Snead and senior assistant Tony Pastoors met with McDaniels on Jan. 7 in New England. They were scheduled to fly to Atlanta to interview Shanahan, but weather nixed their itinerary.

They scrapped plans to reschedule with Shanahan after interviewing McVay for a second time and offering the former Washington Redskins’ offensive coordinator the job.

Shanahan said he was “not totally” disappointed when his initial interview with the Rams was postponed. He had scheduled interviews with four teams during two off days before beginning work for a playoff game against Seattle. The first three interviews were “pretty exhausting,” he said. He never got a chance to speak with the Rams.

“It was just going to be too much of an issue with us getting ready for Seattle the next day,” he said. “But I had to move on.

“Could have postponed it to another week but they had moved on and got someone.”

Shanahan said he has since played phone tag with McVay, but they have texted.

“I’m extremely proud of Sean,” Shanahan said. “He’s a great dude and deserves it all.”

McVay will be working with Snead, who survived Fisher’s dismissal.

Snead has taken cues from Thomas Dimitroff, the Falcons’ general manager since 2008. Snead worked under Dimitroff with the Falcons before the Rams hired him in 2012 and paired him with Fisher.

The Falcons retained Dimitroff after they fired former coach Mike Smith and hired Dan Quinn in 2015.

Two years later, the Falcons are in the Super Bowl.

“Thomas and I are close,” Snead said. “We talk a good bit.”

Snead faces “an interesting navigation” moving forward, Dimitroff said. He encouraged Snead to “stick by what you believe in” as he continued to build the team.

“When you’re the last man standing,” Dimitroff said, “there’s a lot of things that come your way and there’s a lot mines and potholes that you’ve got to dodge because a lot of people are going to be throwing criticism toward you.”

Dimitroff said he likes McVay and “it’s going to be a great tandem” with Snead.

“They both have personalities that I think can get along very well,” Dimitroff said. “You can’t, in any way, even overestimate the importance of a good working relationship between a GM and a head coach.”