ATLANTA — On Sean McVay's 33rd birthday last week, wide receiver Brandin Cooks posted a picture of him and his head coach on Instagram with the caption, "Some people cross your path and change your whole direction. Happy Birthday to the modern day Einstein."
As the Rams have made their run to Super Bowl LIII, that line of thought seems to be omnipresent — McVay is a genius and now the entire league is trying to replicate him in their head coaching hires.
In fact, wide receiver Robert Woods used that that same "G" word in his Tuesday morning media session to describe what makes McVay so special.
"He's kind of a boy genius, I would say — just his creative mindset, being creative, being able to listen and adapt to his players, and just being creative in how he calls plays," Woods said.
But quarterback Jared Goff has arguably benefitted more than any other player from McVay's tutelage since the Rams made him their head coach just over two years ago.
Goff was a part of that hiring process, and took the media down memory lane to his first impressions of McVay back in January 2017.
"As soon as he got in, you could see the type of culture he wanted to instill, and the type of team that he brought in. And, obviously, his knowledge of the game," Goff said on Tuesday morning. "But I think outside of that, you just see what type of guy he is, and the way he likes to do everything the right way. And you do see right away that he's got — obviously — a bright future."
And how has he helped Goff's own development over the last two years?
"Sean's been tremendous for me, ever since he got here — just teaching me not only about football, but about character and leading and communication. And even by accident he teaches me stuff, just by observing him," Goff said. "He's been great for me."
But when it comes to scheme, Goff expanded on Woods' point that McVay has been able to adapt the Xs and Os to best fit who's on the team.
"A lot of coaches, I think, try to fit players into their own mold, fit the players into their offense. Whereas, he's trying to fit his offense around our players," Goff said. "The scheme he brought with him from Washington is tremendous. But it's changed so much based on the personnel we have, and based on what I'm good at, what Todd [Gurley is] good at, Robert Woods is good at, Brandin Cooks is good at. He just moves it around to make it whatever we're best at."
With a team that finished No. 2 in scoring, No. 2 in total yards, No. 3 in rushing yards, and No. 5 in passing yards en route to a conference title, it's safe to say that McVay's methodology is working.
