Sean McVay explains Rams' unique approach to 2020 NFL combine
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Sean McVay is in Indianapolis for the NFL combine, arriving on Tuesday morning for his scheduled press conference with the media. On Wednesday, he’ll be back in Los Angeles, spending just one night at the combine.
It’s an unorthodox approach for a head coach to take, but McVay has never been afraid to think outside the box – like letting Wade Phillips go and hiring a 37-year-old outside linebackers coach as his new defensive coordinator, or resting all of his starters in the preseason.
Additionally, his new coordinators, Brandon Staley, Kevin O’Connell and John Bonamego won’t step foot in Lucas Oil Stadium, staying back in L.A. to continue game planning for the upcoming season. The bulk of the combine work will be done by GM Les Snead and his staff as they evaluate the draft’s top prospects.
During an appearance on NFL Network, McVay explained the Rams’ unique approach to the combine this year, saying the team will lean on the front office and positional coaches to vet these prospects.
“It’s a different setup. The circumstances are a lot different than any I’ve been a part of,” McVay said. “Number one, we’ve got some continuity. Les and his staff do a great job of getting the background, vetting a lot of the players already. And then we’ve got some continuity at our position coaches. They know the process that this entails, want to be able to empower them. Then with the new coordinators that we have with Brandon Staley and Kevin O’Connell, felt like their time would be better served being back, being able to do some things schematically while also still watching film of these guys and I’ll go spend the rest of the week with them but it will still entail a lot of the processes that take place when the meetings aren’t going on and we just felt that was going to be the most efficient use of our time.”
Many have argued that McVay isn’t focusing heavily on the combine because the Rams don’t have a first-round pick and won’t make a selection until No. 52 overall – barring a trade, of course. That’s not the case.
McVay said the process wouldn’t have changed if the Rams did have a first-rounder this year. He still would’ve limited his stay in Indy and his coordinators would’ve stayed back to prepare for the season.
“I don’t think so because it still is the same background, you still do your due diligence. There’s some time to get the information that we feel is necessary when you get on the board and you’ve got to be able to make those picks,” he said. “But it’s a collaborative process. Like I said, Les and his group, and our position coaches do a great job of utilizing the time in the interviews and the workouts to be able to accumulate our evaluation and ultimately (decide) if these guys wind up being fits for the Rams.”
Agree with it or not, McVay and the Rams have their reasons for treating the combine this way. They won’t let it impact their evaluation of the incoming class of prospects as they’ll still watch hundreds of hours of tape and weigh which players fit their roster.
