McVay faces the Washington friends who helped make him a head coach

Sean McVay faces the Washington friends who helped make him a head coach

By RICH HAMMOND

Kirk Cousins quickly spotted the boyish blond guy who darted around the Washington practice field in 2012.

“I remember just throwing routes to the wide receivers and tight ends,” Cousins said this week, “and there was this really, really young guy coaching the tight ends and I thought, ‘That’s interesting. I don’t know how old he is, but he can’t be more than 27 years old.’ I thought that was just unique.”

So began the relationship between Cousins and Sean McVay, then 26, one that lifted both to surprising heights. Cousins, a former fourth-round draft pick, passed for almost 5,000 yards last season. McVay, his offensive coordinator, became the youngest coach in NFL history when the Rams hired him in January.

Now they will be on opposite sidelines when the Rams host Washington at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon, in what figures to be a significant game for two men who owe a lot to each other.

“I think it’ll be weird to separate the emotional aspect,” McVay said. “So many people in that organization have been instrumental in helping me get this position. But, once that game starts it’s just like any other game and we’re going to do the best that we can to compete to go win it.”

Then they’ll all hug. Probably a lot. Even as he game-planned, McVay said he looked forward to next week, when he and Washington coach Jay Gruden could exchange info on future mutual opponents. This is not a grudge match. These are more like siblings pitted against each other for three hours.

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