After nearly six hours of radio and television appearances, impromptu congratulatory conversations and Super Bowl glad-handing, Sean McVay finally took a break late Thursday afternoon.
The Rams’ new coach had just completed something of a national coming-out party, turning a potential gauntlet into something closer to a football parade along a packed “Radio Row” in the George R. Brown Convention Center.
“It’s been good,” he said as he drained the final drops from his fifth bottle of water, “but I’m ready for a nap now.”
McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history, has barely rested since the Rams hired him three weeks ago.
He and veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips huddled near McVay’s home in Virginia to meet with prospective assistants for a coaching staff that will be announced next week. Both have done preliminary roster evaluations in preparation for a concentrated deep-dive that will commence Tuesday in Thousand Oaks.
But first, the 31-year-old McVay and the 69-year-old Phillips made the media rounds here as part of the run-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl LI matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.
“He jokes that he’s ready for Medicare,” McVay said, “and I’m ready for day care.”
As he did during his introductory news conference, McVay demonstrated boundless energy from the moment he arrived at the sprawling, three-story convention center.
With the spectacle that is Super Bowl media night swirling about him, Chris Long sat at a podium in Minute Maid Park answering rapid-fire questions from reporters as fans in the bleachers shouted.
Last January, he could not have imagined being a part of the frenetic scene. He had just finished…
With the spectacle that is Super Bowl media night swirling about him, Chris Long sat at a podium in Minute Maid Park answering rapid-fire questions from reporters as fans in the bleachers shouted.
Last January, he could not have imagined being a part of the frenetic scene. He had just finished…
“Did you see coach Phillips’ Super Bowl ring?” he said as he walked a long hallway to his first interview. “I want to earn one of those.”
McVay never missed a beat — or a handshake, hug or back-pat — during spontaneous meetings with Hall of Famers such as Mike Singletary, Andre Reed and Jackie Slater. And he joked with former Pro Bowl receiver Keyshawn Johnson before a radio interview.
“We need to line you up on the outside,” McVay said.
“You’re looking like somebody’s agent,” said Johnson, eyeing the bearded McVay’s ensemble, which included a light-brown patterned sport coat, a light-colored print shirt, jeans and tan suede shoes.
As McVay made his way down escalators for an appearance on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” show, he lamented that his trousers were getting tighter.
“I have to get off the coaches’ circuit,” he said, chuckling, “and get back to working out.”
On his way back to Radio Row, he stopped and chatted up giddy volunteers manning a security post. Minutes later he grinned broadly when he asked another volunteer, “Kobe or LeBron?”
“He tried to put me on Snapchat with that question earlier,” McVay said, laughing.
McVay never tired or cut short an interaction. He learned to be attentive and friendly, he said, from observing his father, a television executive who has managed hundreds of employees at stations in the Bay Area and Atlanta.
“Just seeing the right way to treat people, no matter what they can do for you,” McVay said. “That’s how you want to be looked at: As somebody that’s a nice person and gives everybody consideration.”
The vibe with Phillips, an NFL assistant, coordinator or head coach since 1976, was “very comfortable and dynamic,” McVay said.
Phillips, wearing a gray suit and gray and black cowboy boots, concurred. McVay’s football knowledge and ability to impart what he wants, he added, has been evident.
“Age doesn’t matter,” Phillips said. “That’s what I say. And that’s what I say about him too.”
Phillips, the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator the last two seasons, was familiar with McVay because his son, Wes, coached tight ends for the Washington Redskins during McVay’s three seasons as offensive coordinator.
McVay called Phillips in January, before he began a round of interviews with the Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
“He says, ‘If I get one of these jobs, would you be interested in coming with me?’” Phillips recalled. “I said, ‘Well sure.’
“I’m thinking, ‘He’s 30 years old. He’s going to get a job? I mean, I know he’s really good but…. So, sure enough he calls me and he says, ‘Hey, I’m getting the Rams’ job, are you still interested?
“And I said, ‘Well yeah, of course.’”
The Chargers terminated their lease with the city of San Diego for Qualcomm Stadium and Chargers Park on Wednesday, the first day they were eligible to do so since announcing their move to Los Angeles last month.
To complete the departure, the Chargers paid the city an early-termination fee of…
The Chargers terminated their lease with the city of San Diego for Qualcomm Stadium and Chargers Park on Wednesday, the first day they were eligible to do so since announcing their move to Los Angeles last month.
To complete the departure, the Chargers paid the city an early-termination fee of…
Phillips was drawn to the opportunity, in part, because it moves him closer to his daughter, Tracy, a choreographer who lives in Los Angeles.
Rams defensive players such as three-time Pro Bowl tackle Aaron Donald, two-time Pro Bowl end Robert Quinn and linebacker Alec Ogletree, he said, were among “really good” players that were easy to “prejudge.” The staff will study every play by every Rams player on film and also analyze strengths and weaknesses during organized team activities.
The Rams ranked ninth in defense last season running a hybrid 4-3 scheme. Phillips has been known for success running a 3-4.
“We put them in the best situation to do their best,” he said. “That’s really the way I’ve always approached it.
“Everybody says 3-4, this and that, but it’s really what technique you play within that defense. … The rushers are going to rush, the guys that cover are going to be more cover guys. We’ll look at strength and weaknesses and then we can say, ‘we might need this or we might need that’ as far as the draft and free agency.”
Phillips wore the Super Bowl ring he won with the Broncos last season because, “We’re still the champs until Sunday.”
He is looking forward to coaching in Los Angeles “as long as TMZ doesn’t follow me out to the parking lot like they did one time.”
Phillips’ brief media tour ended Thursday.
McVay’s continues Friday.
So he said he would return to his hotel, nap, “and then I’ll work out and try and get a little energy back” before dinner.
McVay would welcome another trip to the Super Bowl.
“Hopefully,” he said, “we get a chance to come back as one of the two teams playing in this.”
gary.klein@latimes.com
Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @latimesklein
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