Why Rams’ Sean McVay, some other NFL coaches skip the combine

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams COO Kevin Demoff explained this week the origin of coach Sean McVay’s annually skipping the NFL Scouting Combine.

After reaching the Super Bowl in February 2019 and losing to the New England Patriots, the Rams had little time to prepare for the annual pre-draft event later that month. The following year, McVay decided to hang back to work with new members of his coaching staff, and he has not looked back since.

“Like everything else, most inventions come out of necessity, or you’re questioning norms and challenging assumptions,” Demoff said. “So in 2020, I think the answer was no when Sean had just hired [former Rams defensive coordinator] Brandon Staley.

“He felt it was really important to kind of sit back with the defense, work with the new coaches and go through that week. And I think he found value and didn’t really miss going. And we wound up adapting that formula.” 

The 2021 combine was canceled due to COVID-19, but McVay was one of the first head coaches to start skipping the event. Others have followed suit, including Mike McCarthy, Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh. This year, new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and new Patriots coach Jerod Mayo are among those not attending.

McVay joked that not being at the combine means missing out on late nights at popular coach hangouts like Prime 47 steakhouse in Indianapolis. 

“That’s why we don’t go to the combine — too much time spent at Prime, not enough time spent in the film room,” he quipped. “Because we’ve had so much turnover, so much of this last handful of weeks have been spent making sure that you’re not rushing the process of getting the right coaches on board. 

“And then you say, OK, part of it is location, traveling to Indy and back. We have such trust in our scouting staff with the vetting and the background they’ve done. There’s value in it, so I don’t want it to be…

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Publish date : 2024-02-27 21:52:07

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