Sean McVay - Head Coach, rams Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-06 | Full transcript (primary source).
Sean McVay, Head Coach of the Rams, addressed the media during a press conference on September 6, 2026. The session focused on team updates and preparations as the Rams approached the upcoming season.
Transcript
McVay: All righty, you guys go ahead.
McVay: Yeah, absolutely. We're truly taking it a day at a time. I'll have all those injury updates and stuff like that for you on Tuesday.
McVay: Yep, he's gonna do some stuff.
Unknown: Yep.
Unknown: Slow in regards to what? 2-0?
Unknown: Oh, I gotcha.
Unknown: Yes, gotcha.
Unknown: Kind of defensive on that. I'm like, wait, wait, wait, yeah, there you go.
Unknown: Go ahead.
Unknown: Yeah.
Unknown: 100%, oh, he did, absolutely.
McVay: You know, I think each year, you know, I feel good about, you know, Houston was an amazing defense. There were some things I could have done a better job on, but I thought we played pretty good against Tennessee the next week. Thought we played really well defensively in both of those first two games. And so, you know, here's what I would tell you is, there's a commitment to what we believe is best for our team and, you know, that's why we try to mimic and emulate game-like settings and situations with joint practices, with what we do in practice settings. And I totally understand, you know, that that might not be for everybody, but it is what, you know, we think is best. And, you know, our guys have been ready to go for the most part. I feel, you know, throughout the time that we've been here, there certainly has been some slow starts. You know, even a couple of years ago, I thought we battled against Detroit and just came up short in that overtime. And then we had a, you know, a tough one against Arizona the next year. But both of those years were a little bit different where we were playing a lot of younger guys. You know, we've got a lot of experience on this team where guys have played meaningful football. There were some scenarios that were a little bit more specific and, you know me, I'll never make any sort of excuses, but our expectation is, hey, this is a great football team that we're going against and we expect to be, you know, playing good football because of the belief that I have in our players and our coaches while not minimizing what a great challenge it is and all the different things that you guys have been asking me about.
McVay: You know what, I don't, here's what I would say, I haven't felt that because even if you did take the preseason approach, you wouldn't accumulate enough snaps to simulate that. So we try to be able to, you know, do those types of things in practice settings. I felt like our guys are in really good condition. They're callous, they're ready to go, but ultimately we'll know once we end up playing and we're looking forward to that.
McVay: He's been great. You know, I mean, just, you talk about modeling the way and, you know, I think the greatest sign of leadership is, you know, are you influencing and affecting positive change with people you're around, situations you're a part of, his willingness to challenge guys, but do it with the right amount of awareness and emotional intelligence. But, you know, he never asked anybody to do anything that he's not doing and he's so willing to share and, you know, he's got a swag and a presence that guys disrespect. But the way that he's moved really throughout the time that he's been here has been incredibly influential. Think he was kind of just getting to know guys last year and, you know, and it was pretty close to unanimous for him, which is a cool thing because of the way that he's moved. And I think our guys, they see better than anything else they hear and they've seen a guy that's a great illustration of really good leadership for us.
McVay: Yep, thought it was good. I mean, and the guys had an idea, but it was really, you know, we're still, like I tell them, hey, let's take it, you know, a day at a time, but for your guys understanding, you know, we'll leave on what would be equivalent. I look at it as Friday evening. It's, you know, it's Tuesday night, you know, for you guys, but it would be the equivalent of Friday evening and, you know, sleep through the night and then we'll get there and we have, you know, kind of a rhythm. But I believe this, you know, everything that we do, I think our guys and I would hope, and the most important thing to me is they know that, hey, everything we do is what we think is best. And it doesn't mean that we think we're right and a different approach is wrong. It's just what we think is best based on the things that we've done and what we've learned over our time here. And that's what will always consistently drive our decision making processes, you know, with the players first and foremost and at the forefront of our minds and every decision that we make and keeping guys in their normal rhythm and routine. And then some of the different things that we've done behind the scenes of people that have done this, whether it's different sports or people that have made these types of trips, even we've tested it out with some guys and we feel like it's been positive, but that's kind of what went into the approach.
McVay: Yeah, that we're gonna make it as minimal, you know, what gives me confidence is I'm not gonna really make it a big deal. It's, hey, this is what the reality is. We've got a long way to go, but let's be ready to rock, you know, when that three hour window that we're allotted comes. And that's what it is. And, you know, to spend a bunch of time and talking about it, you know, and I get it with you guys too. Like, I understand your guys' questions, but, you know, for me, you know, I've kind of told you guys what our approach is and our expectation is our guys will be ready to go. And I'm not really, I'm not worrying about it because I know what our plans are. We're gonna follow that plan and then we're gonna focus on our preparation and try to go be at our best and go swing when we get a chance to play against a great team.
McVay: Yeah, you love the box checking. Yes. Just steady progression is really what it's about. You know, when you get into normal game week, you know, you have a rhythm of the week in regards to, you know, this would be like what a Wednesday is where you're focusing on normal down a distance ball. You're getting into some of the, you know, second and longer situations. You'll touch on some different third downs. We're a little bit ahead because we've had some extra time. Then what is normally the Thursday, which would be tomorrow is, you know, the combination of those two things. You're adding in third down, short yardage and some two minute. And then you wrap it up with red zone and some of the other situational things that you haven't hit. But there's really a three day, you know, work week with our players to implement the game plan. And today we'll represent what our first normal Wednesday would be like, even though today is Sunday, I believe.
McVay: Just progression, you know, I mean, there's so many, I mean, you know, there's not necessarily one thing. It's, you know, steady improvement coming together. Number one goal is let's come together as a team. And that's, that's a never ending journey of continuing to be at our best as individuals, but ultimately geared towards the collective. And how do we play 11 as one? How do we rush four as one? How do we play good coverage with our back seven? How do we do a great job of hitting blocks with how many guys we have committed to the blocking surface backs, pressing in one gap at a time, the way we distribute the field and play on time and in rhythm, all those things. How do we make sure that we understand what we're trying to get done in the return phases, in the coverage phases? So there's so many different things. And I've loved the way that our coaches have kind of had a teaching progression and I've loved the way that our players really bring it to life. And I think there's been a lot of illustrations of guys being independent thinkers and problem solvers. And that's exactly what we're hunting up. But the real test come, you know, on whatever the hell day we're playing.
McVay: Yeah, absolutely. That's what I've heard. I haven't heard anything different. Full layout sleep, they've got full layout to beds. All of our players have that. Guys love this trip thing, man. Yeah, it is cool. But, you know, it's a big plan. Everybody will be able to get fully extended in layout and be able to get their rest. And if you guys ask me any more questions about that, I'm kind of tired of talking about this. I'll talk about the game. I'm excited about the game.
Unknown: You can, of course, Gary. Go ahead.
Unknown: Sure. A lot of respect, you know. I think it's, I think these guys do an excellent job. You know, I'm not gonna answer that question, but it's like, here's what I, well, that was the goal is really, you always look at it through a lens of, man, these are problematic players to go against guys that you have respect for, whether you've watched them from afar or actually game planned against them. But, you know, the first thing is, is it relates to talking about, you know, whether you're talking about a, getting Q extended, you know, extended during the season, re-signing Cam Curl, bringing in Jalen and Trent. You know, all of those things, those are Trent and Jalen. I didn't think that would be a situation that we'd be able to pull off just based on kind of how we had that spot slotted. And then, you know, Q's, you know, been tremendously valuable as his Cam Curl, and we know what those guys are about, and that was important to get them back.
McVay: When it comes to Matthew, last one, guys.
McVay: Sure. I think it was great. You know, I thought, you know, I thought our guys did a great job of handling last year, and what an amazing job Matthew did as well. So, ultimately, you know, when your quarterback's feeling good going into a season, that's a big deal. I mean, it was really like he would have gotten a week of practice at this point, and then just went and hit the ground running. But he's amazing. Really glad that he's feeling good. And, you know, you always want to be able to strive for that stuff, you know, with guys staying as healthy as possible. So that's been a real positive for us.
Unknown: Okay. Thanks guys.
Unknown: Yes.
Unknown: Yep. How kind of are you processing that and the team processing in terms of how you guys are going to do this?
McVay: Yeah, I mean, I think we're just keeping it as normal as we possibly can. Obviously have a normal day today. You know, Sunday, kind of like a Wednesday for us in our world. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, hop on the plane and go. And I don't know, you know, we obviously have experience with it, doing it different direction, all that kind of stuff. I understand last year in London, but felt like it worked out for us. Guys felt ready to play. And, you know, I think guys enjoy being home and having the opportunity to obviously go play over there is really cool, but I feel confident in the way we're going about it. Guys will be ready to rock and roll, you know, come Friday morning.
Unknown: Yeah. I think just, you know, similar to the last few years, just a ton of appreciation for the opportunity. Obviously know that I, you know, feel lucky to be in the position that I'm in for as long as I've been in it. Takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice not only for myself, but my family and a bunch of people around here too. So just appreciating it, enjoying the moment and, you know, looking forward to this practice today. And then obviously, you know, hopefully the rest of the season.
Unknown: Yeah. I mean, that's not really the way it works. You know, I mean, the team that we were at the end of the season last year, wasn't the team that we were week one, you know, both in personnel execution, all that, you know, and you develop yourself as you go, you try to continue to get better and better. You know, I feel like we've had a really solid off season, a really nice strong training camp on both sides of the ball. And that puts you in position to go, you know, have confidence going into, you know, the season that you understand what your team's about. And then inevitably things happen and you got to morph and change and find the ways to be successful. So I have no doubt that we're, you know, a strong group when it comes to that, being able to figure out things if we need to. But it is exciting having the same, a lot of the same faces back. Guys that understand when we're trying to get done, you know, even at the end of the season last year, the changes that we've made throughout the off season and how we want to go ahead and implement those and put them into work.
Unknown: Yeah. I mean, I think it carries a ton of weight. Obviously he's the guy who's accomplished everything you can accomplish on the defensive side of the ball in this sport. You know, one of the best, if not the best, when he was out there playing for us. So happy to have him back, happy that he's excited about it, you know. I know our guys on our team, you know, in our locker room and our coaching staff, everybody is excited to have a player of his caliber. And like you said, a person of his caliber as well. So just happy to have him around the building and back out there.
Unknown: Yeah. You know, I think we got a ton of great work during the season as well. You know, I think that kind of, I mean, shooting nothing will give you, you know, more things to talk about, more confidence and going out there and doing it on a Sunday, you know. And then we did that for a bunch of weeks last year. So, you know, was everything perfect? No. Is it going to be? No, like I don't complete every ball I throw and those guys don't get open every route and catch every time. You know, I mean, those things happen, but just understanding of, you know, who he is as a player, how he separates, you know, that constant dialogue has been great with him. Obviously the work out on the grass has been great as well. Huge credit to him. You know, he's a guy that's been around for a long time as well. He's run a ton of miles and yards on his body, but he's done an unbelievable job of being available and out there and really practicing his butt off, you know, all off season in training camp. So those kinds of things are great for us to get those reps on.
Unknown: Okay.
Unknown: Yeah. I mean, I think it's great for him. Obviously I didn't go every single day during the training camp that we had, both at LMU and here. So it was really nice for those guys to get a bunch of reps, mix in there. Obviously Stetson a little further along in his journey than Ty is, you know, as far as just experience and what it looks like to, you know, come out here on a practice field or compete against another team in a preseason game. So it's been really cool to watch both those guys grow. Throughout, you know, obviously I have more time with Stetson, you know, his growth has been great and Ty the same. You can tell he's a, you know, a coach's kid. He soaks it up and he wants to know everything there is to know about the position and that's going to be, you know, serving well.
Unknown: Yeah. I mean, when I, you're talking about year one here.
Unknown: Yeah. Oh, geez. Yeah. I was way back. Yeah, no doubt. Absolutely. I mean, the caliber athlete is as good as it gets right now at that position. These guys, I tell people that all the time, you know, it's one thing to try two or three of them out there, but you got to have two or three guys that make a football team better too. And so our guys do that. We're lucky to have them both from a physicality and a mentality standpoint, but also just the smarts to go out there and execute and do what we ask them to do in all sorts of different alignments versus different defensive personnel's. They're really smart and can do all that. So happy to have all those guys and definitely it's changed a bunch. I know when I first got here even, I mean, it was one on the field at all times. If we ever got two on there, we always like joked that we would practice it and then we never ran it in the game, but, you know, so now it's, now they're all over the place, which is great.
Unknown: Yeah. I mean, it feels more normal than it did last year. You know, last year, kind of being the outlier of, you know, not having any training camp really to speak of at all. And so this is year 18, you know, what, 17 of them. I feel like I've had a lot of training camp reps and had normal, you know, off seasons. And last year, just kind of being that outlier, but I definitely feel good. It's exciting to get out there and, you know, practice during training camp, be out there with the guys, obviously still had a little bit of a modified schedule to make sure that we're feeling good come, you know, come this week. And I appreciate that very much. So it's been, it's been really cool. Obviously excited about, you know, week one of getting this thing going.
Unknown: You know, I think just, you know, his comfort within the system and where he fits. He's a sharp guy, just like the rest of those guys. But anytime I think tight ends, one of the toughest positions to come in and play early year and extension of the offensive line both the pass protection and the run game, but then you got to go out there and run routes and win versus certain coverages and leverages and all that kind of stuff too. So it's a, it's a big adjustment. It's a tough thing to do. I thought he did a great job last year, but the more years you get under your belt, the understanding and the ability to sit in that locker or in that meeting room with those guys that he's in there with and just kind of pick their brains and then talk to them about, you know, how they're going to be successful and then channel that into his own game. I think has, you know, helped him out. And obviously he's a really even keel guy, doesn't get too high, too low, just comes to work every single day with a great attitude.
Unknown: I don't know that I'll watch, maybe I will. But yeah, it's, I know that one's about, you know, coaching our, in our organization, I think, but say what?
Unknown: Oh, okay. I didn't add anything to the tech condo. I promise you that. Just still trying to figure out how to use my phone, but, but no, I'm excited. It'll be cool.
Unknown: Nice. What's happening? When the team was around, how does it feel like this pre-season line, you know, they, your teammates are going to be a captain. I mean, how does that feel? How does it feel to get more in state season?
Unknown: I mean, it feels great. It's obviously a great feeling to be voted that, but, you know, I don't, I don't think you necessarily have to ever see on your jersey to, to feel like you're a captain and to contribute and to be a captain for the team. But yeah, it's obviously a huge honor. And more time I get with this organization, to know my teammates and everybody, obviously the tighter we've become and the stronger we've become as a team.
Unknown: Talk to you guys now about the travel plan, how it's going to work.
Unknown: Yeah. How are you, are you looking forward to this journey or how are you approaching it? The length of time you guys have been feeling?
Unknown: I mean, I'm, you don't want to have to travel that long to play a football game, but I'm excited to play football. I mean, if it's any game to be excited for, it's the first one, I guess, you know, doing all of this for us. So, you know, we kind of get to get it out the way to travel part of it, but once we get there, I'm sure it'll be an amazing environment. And, you know, it's always a little bit different playing in a different country. So it'll be fun. I know it'll be a lot of people in attendance that's supposed to be like a hundred thousand or something like that. So, you know, that'll be cool. I think once you get to playing in just a college size stadium, it doesn't really feel much different for the people playing in the game, but, you know, it'll be a lot of support in there. So it'll be fun.
Unknown: No, no, I mean, we, we did the same thing in London, went out there and handle business. So, you know, they are, we got a lot of smart people in here, a lot smarter than me to make decisions and come up with, you know, the ways we're going to go about it as far as sleep and nutrition and all that. So we, we let them put that together and then we just follow.
Unknown: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's the idea. Anytime you've had some success, especially doing this toward the end of the season, you'd like to think you can, you know, pick up where you left off. That's on paper, how you want it to be. And, you know, we've been putting in the work to have it look that way as well. So excited and like I said, we've been working to be better than what we were last year and having more time together, obviously hopes that.
Unknown: I mean, we haven't played a game yet, so it's a lot to, yeah, we'll have to see. That's really when you, when you, you know, a lot of that stuff comes to life, but the way that this place runs, you know, it shines building at the end of the day. So, you know, it's, they work together and they all come up and they're, they all mastermind together. But at the end of the day, you know, the way that the big man wants it done at the end is how it's going to be. So I don't really know, you know, who's responsible for what because they do all come together. They all, you know, point the finger at each other as far as who, you know, should take the credit. So, you know, nobody's in there saying, I schemed this up. This is, it's like, you know, we as a unit, you know, did this or did that. So a lot of times, especially the way that we do in the meeting room, sometimes you don't know who was even responsible for what. So, you know, they do a good job working together and then we just try to bring it to life.
Unknown: I mean, we got basically the same room as last year, which helps having more time together, just like a quarterback and receiver work together. You know, we work together out there in the run game, a route combination. So being able to be familiar with the way a guy moves or his body language in the run game, that, you know, that helps a lot. So getting more time together, these guys are the most locked in group I've ever been a part of too. So, you know, all of that, all of that just kind of helps it, you know, just feel real comfortable as you're going to week one.
Unknown: I was sure when you guys were in London, you and the receivers had the student celebration.
Unknown: Yeah. Is there anything you're working on for a few of them?
Unknown: No, I mean, and that one came up, that was mom to doing, so he brought that up out there. I wasn't even really, I wouldn't say I knew about it, but I wasn't going to do it until he said it. But unless you know of something that they're doing, I'll show you, I don't have anything right now.
Unknown: Yeah, well, no, I think, well, I'll let Jesus take the will when I get in. Just enjoying coming out here and enjoying football. I mean, honestly, that's the best way to do it. That's what I attribute a lot of my success to and my life is just being present in the moment. And, you know, in college, I wasn't thinking, I wasn't going into every game trying to build a resume for the league. It was just having fun and playing ball, playing that kid's game that sometimes gets lost with the business. But the more you can go out there and just have fun and play for your teammates and really enjoy it. I feel like that's when good things happen and you look up and typically you like what you see.
Unknown: What's your reaction to Eric Donald coming back and what's it been like for you to work against this secondary practice?
Unknown: Well, I mean, I think I'm as excited as anybody in this building to see him back. You know, there's questions about how things will go and nobody knows exactly what he's going to do statistically, you know, if he's going to be exactly what he was. But at the end of the day, I know the type of person that he is and I know the way he's going to work. And I know the way he looks right now. He looks like it's going to be a familiar picture for us all out there. And as far as our DBs, I mean, they give us great work, especially with the new additions that we got bringing in, you know, our two new guys that we got from Kansas City. Just a different level of competition. And it just makes it a little bi.