Analyst Has High Praise for Rams' Sean McVay, Les Snead

Sean McVay is the second-best coach in the NFL and Les Snead in the No. 4 general manager in the league. That’s according to ESPN analyst Mina Kimes, who said those rankings are a product of what the Rams have done since kicking off the 2021 season.

“The idea that a team can be all-in with older players but then also rebuilding at the same time with younger players,” she said on Wednesday’s edition of the Mina Kimes Show, with special guest Kevin Clark, “the Rams did it. You have to give Les Snead all the credit in the world. The fact that they did ‘F them picks,’ won a Super Bowl, and then immediately became competitive again, through in part the strength of their draft picks, is unbelievable.”

Those 2023-24 draft picks, she listed, were offensive lineman Steve Avila, linebacker Byron Young, defensive tackle Kobie Turner, wide receiver Puka Nacua in 2023. The next spring, the Rams drafted. Linebacker Jared Verse, defensive end Braden Fiske and safety Kam Kitchens.

“The defense post-Aaron Donald was supposed to go off of a cliff,” Kimes said. “The fact that it didn't, it's Les Snead's masterclass to me.”

The on-field version of a masterclass has McVay as its professor, Kimes said. The analyst ranked Andy Reid first, followed by McVay and Detroit’s Dan Campbell. While there are many reasons McVay has earned the title of best coach in the NFC, the key differences in the eyes of Kimes between McVay and Campbell is what the Rams reminded the Lions in their schedule release – Detroit has zero Super Bowl appearances – and the Lions have yet to prove they can overcome the loss of their coordinators.

“Sean McVay has done the thing already where he has shed multiple coaches and come out on top,” Kimes said. “Dan Campbell now has to do that, right? And you and I both have confidence he can, but there's just more proof with Sean McVay. And of course, he has a Super Bowl as well.”

Clark said Snead earned such a high ranking for many factors, including how he handled the retirement of Aaron Donald.

“He said it took five top-100 picks to do that,” Clark said of his March interview with Snead. “I think there's some front offices that say, ‘Well, here's Aaron Donald’s replacement.’ No, one of the things they did, they drafted Verse and Fiske and thought that the chemistry that they developed at Florida State would help a little bit. It was literally, ‘We cannot replace Aaron Donald; let's do an aggregate,’ which I think takes some humility.

“The best GMs, including Les Snead, they all understand there's no such thing as a super drafter. … And I think you see that. They throw numbers at problems, they understand how to do it, and then they give it to a coach in Sean McVay who knows what the hell to do.”