Rams coach Sean McVay on Jared Goff: ‘I could have done better’
The divorce between the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Jared Goff hasn’t been without some drama. The two sides have traded some barbs even before the Rams agreed to trade Goff to the Detroit Lions, along with several draft picks, in exchange for Lions QB Matthew Stafford.
Rams coach Sean McVay, who was the catalyst behind Los Angeles giving up on Goff, attempted to shift some of the blame for Goff’s radical dropoff over the last two seasons from his Pro Bowl years in 2017 and 2018 onto the coach’s own shoulders.
Here’s what McVay told Lindsey Thiry of ESPN,
“What I think is important to make sure that I at least want to mention is the amount of good things and really great leadership that he provided since I got here as a head coach,” McVay said. Thiry notes that McVay then rattled off the impressive accomplishments: the three playoff appearances, two division titles, NFC championship and Super Bowl appearance in four seasons.
“So what I’d rather focus on are the things that I think he did a great job of establishing himself in this league, the way he handled himself consistently day in and day out and all I can do is just be appreciative of that and that’s kind of what I would say on Jared,” McVay continued.
This caused some introspective reflection on McVay’s part.
“You pride yourself in those types of things and I think I could have been much better about those real-time communications and, I’m not going to make any excuses about it, but there’s a lot of things, even some of the decision-making in games,” Thiry quoted McVay. “Are you consistently putting him in the right positions to be successful and so, as a coach, as a leader, your job is to try to make situations and people that you’re around better and there were certainly some moments that I know I could have done better, really for our team and Jared in particular.”
It’s good to hear McVay step up and take some of the blame for the fall-off in Goff’s play and the Rams offense. And it’s worth noting it was still good enough to win a playoff game last season and make the Super Bowl one year prior, even with Goff and McVay not always being simpatico.
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