London Fletcher saw a glimpse of what Sean McVay could be during his time on the Redskins.
Rams head coach Sean McVay has received praise the past two seasons for his one-of-a-kind coaching, but Super Bowl champion London Fletcher saw early on what was to come for the young coach.
Before McVay rose to become the next great NFL coach, he spent seven years with the Washington Redskins as the tight ends coach, then becoming offensive coordinator. But it was his time coaching the tight ends that really stood out to Fletcher during his time playing in Washington.
“On the practice field the tight ends and the linebackers are right next to each other on the field,” Fletcher told FanSided’s Mark Carman. “When he initially got the job he was a young guy, so you’re thinking does he really know what he’s doing? I would just listen to him coach and explain to his guys and teach. There’s not a lot of teachers in the NFL, Sean is a teacher.”
While it may sound odd that teaching is a unique trait for an NFL coach, oftentimes it isn’t. Sure there are coaches that will take the time to break things down for players, but more often than not players are expected to know how to do certain things. They wouldn’t be professionals otherwise.
For Fletcher, even though McVay wasn’t his coach that small nugget spoke volumes about McVay as a leader and as someone who eventually would become a head coach.
“It surprised me that he got a head coaching job so quick because of his age, but the success that he’s had doesn’t surprise me,” Fletcher said.
McVay’s age is often a topic of discussion since he is the youngest head coach in the NFL, and the youngest coach to lead a team to the Super Bowl. Despite that, McVay has put together an impressive 24-8 record in his two years leading a Rams team that he did not have a hand in drafting himself.
Although Fletcher knows McVay well and spent four years with the Rams when they were in St. Louis, he isn’t going with his former team to win the Super Bowl. Like many he’s opting for the constant force that has a decades worth of experience being on this stage.
“I hope I’m wrong, but I think it’s going to be the Patriots,” Fletcher said. “It’s hard to go against Brady and Belichick in the Super Bowl, [the Rams] are going to have to play an outstanding football game to beat those guys.”