National Football League

Will the Rams become the NFL's next dynasty?

Published Mar. 1, 2022 8:54 p.m. ET

Claiming back-to-back Super Bowls might be the most difficult feat in professional sports.

It’s a pursuit that has escaped many of the NFL’s great teams, and one that has only been achieved by juggernaut rosters and legendary quarterbacks.

Tom Brady’s unrivaled magic made New England the sole repeat champions this millennium, Troy Aikman and John Elway won consecutive championships in the 90s, and the revered Packers, Dolphins and Steelers teams of the early NFL won six of the first 10 titles.

But Colin Cowherd believes that Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams are poised to join these all-time teams and become the NFL’s next great dynasty. Speaking on "The Herd" on Tuesday, Cowherd tabbed the Rams as early Super Bowl favorites, pointing to their strong coaching and unique business approach, but also to their advantageous position in the NFC amidst weak rivals.

"Obviously you have to be great," Cowherd said. "But it’s not just you. So much of what creating a dynasty is about is you need breaks, you need opponents to get old, you need great star quarterbacks to change teams. So if you look at the next great dynasty in sports, you can make a really strong argument [that] it's the Rams."

Cowherd first praised the Rams’ impressive top-down organization from the front office to the field, asserting that they have the best quarterback, coach and general manager in the NFC.

"(Sean) McVay is an A+ coach, it's over," Cowherd said. "And, unlike Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin, he’s on the right side of the ball going forward. They also have an A, A+ GM who’s literally created a different way of doing business. And we also know that Matt Stafford, for all those who question him, has a Tom Brady, fourth-quarter thing that’s indisputable."

But Cowherd added that a bigger component to greatness comes down to a single question: What are your rivals doing? And in the NFC, there’s not much good happening outside the City of Angels.

Green Bay, Arizona and Seattle are likely to lose their star quarterbacks this summer, and the 49ers may depend on the services of a second-year gunslinger. And those are the most promising teams — Cowherd considers 10 of the 16 teams in the conference outside of Super Bowl contention.

Compare that to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Rams’ closest competitors for dynastic glory, who face an annual AFC gauntlet filled with former-MVPs, Buffalo-based starlets and possibly the greatest coach in NFL history.

"A big part of this is weakness to your contemporary rivals," Cowherd said. "Is anyone paying attention to what’s happening in the NFC? It’s weak."

Cowherd referred back to the two most recent dynasties in college football, Nick Saban at Alabama and Pete Carroll at USC, emphasizing the importance of matchups and external factors. Saban’s success occurred largely during a down period for historic teams like Tennessee, Georgia and Florida and Carroll’s success came without much resistance from long-time powers Oregon and UCLA.

So for Cowherd, the question isn’t how good are the Rams, it’s who’s going to stop them? And right now the NFC doesn’t look prepared to snatch the Lombardi Trophy out of L.A.