Los Angeles Rams reportedly would have allowed HC Sean McVay a year off

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay may have been closer to at least temporarily stepping away from the team this past winter than some may have realized. 

Via Cameron DaSilva of Rams Wire/USA Today, league insider Peter Schrager of NFL Network and Fox Sports "is a friend of McVay’s" and offered some insight on the coach's offseason during a Wednesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." 

"I think he thought long and hard and I thought based on conversations with him, and we were talking daily, that he was going to take a couple of weeks, maybe a month to figure out what he was gonna do," Schrager said of McVay.

"And the Rams were giving him that space. They said, 'If you need a year off to clear your head and come back, that’s fine.' The Rams were awesome about it. He took about three days (to decide to return for 2023)." 

McVay reportedly flirted with accepting a job with Amazon's "Thursday Night Football" coverage shortly after Los Angeles defeated the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. The Rams then experienced a woeful 2022-23 campaign which ended with a 5-12 record. McVay declined after Week 18 to immediately commit to a fall return in 2023.

The coach has admitted he has "been interested in" a broadcasting career, but may have found himself short on options this past winter after outlets such as Amazon, Fox and ESPN filled openings. Schrager indicated there was more behind McVay's ultimate decision to stick with the Rams.

"And at the end of the day, I don’t think he was going to do that to (quarterback) Matthew Stafford," Schrager explained. "I don’t think he was going to do that to (wide receiver) Cooper Kupp, and he didn’t need the full year away. No one was pushing him to do that but he was considering it." 

Recent history suggests it's likely networks will again reach out to McVay about potential gigs as soon as January 2024, especially if Los Angeles endures another disappointing campaign.