Coach McVay is Rams' new kid on the block

Coach McVay is Rams' new kid on the block

By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch

PHOENIX • Sean McVay isn’t bothered by the age jokes. They have come from all directions, even from people he has hired on his Los Angeles Rams coaching staff.

Such as grizzled defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who sent out this zinger via Twitter in early February: “Rams have the only staff with DC on Medicare and HC in Daycare.”

Phillips will be 70 before the Rams start training camp. McVay was 30 when the Rams hired him to replace Jeff Fisher, making him the youngest head coach in modern NFL history. He since has turned 31.

Age alone makes McVay more contemporary than authority figure to his players. Free-agent pickup Andrew Whitworth, the offensive tackle signed from the Cincinnati Bengals, is four years his elder.

It has led to some interesting dialogue, such as when McVay met with Western Kentucky offensive lineman Forrest Lamp at the NFL Scouting Combine this offseason.

McVay to Lamp: “Do you have some gel in that hair?”

Lamp to McVay: “No, it stands up like that.”

Lamp, again to McVay: “I can tell you’ve got some gel in your hair.”

Hard to imagine Dick Vermeil having that conversation, with say, Adam Timmerman, isn’t it?

McVay tries to play along.

Read Complete Article
[www.stltoday.com]