Sean McVay at League Meetings: 'It's starting to kind of set in'
Sean McVay is the youngest coach in NFL history.
McVay, who turned 31-years-old in January, was in Phoenix for the NFL League Meetings and took some time to speak with the media.
"This is probably the first time that it's starting to kind of set in, what a unique experience it is. You actually slow down a little bit when you come to these, as opposed to how fast things are going back in L.A. and trying to get everything settled and situated," McVay said.
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"It's surreal. It's very humbling. You reflect back on how appreciative you are to a lot of people that were willing to invest in me. You're also aware that you've been very fortunate with timing."
Among the topics discussed:
(On Demoff saying that the roster is starting to take on McVay's image)
"I think they are taking on our image, kind of what we've all agreed that we're looking for. When you really look at some of the players that we've acquired; when you look at an (T) Andrew Whitworth, you look at a (RB) Lance Dunbar, (WR) Robert Woods – especially just on offense – get (CB) Kayvon Webster and (OLB) Connor Barwin – these are good people that kind of represent what we want to be in terms of that football character: accountability, coach-ability, you can depend on these guys."
(On the best thing that Wade Phillips has given him so far)
"Initially, we had things set-up where we were going to meet 30 minutes at the beginning of the week to kind of set the tone, and Wade comes up – and he's been great about picking and choosing his spots – and he says, 'I think it's really important for you to meet with the team every day, so they can get a feel and especially establish that rapport with the defensive players." To have somebody like that, that's been in this role but from a defensive perspective and how he connected with the offensive players - I think that's great."
(On how he monitors Jared Goff when coaches cannot have contact with the players)
"That's what's so frustrating. Because you want to be able to be around these guys -- he wants to be in the building, you want to start teaching him our system and see how he's able to articulate our verbiage, yell it in the huddle and then be able to translate it to the grass. I think what's ended up happening right now is he's done a good job, he's gone out of his way to seek out (baseball pitching coach and quarterback coach) Tom House, working on throwing the football and things like that. I think he's got a little bit of an idea of what we're going to try to do, so when he's throwing with some of our receivers, you're at least getting work in where it's going to translate to what we're going to be doing here in a couple weeks. But it's really frustrating and that's why that April 10th date can't come around fast enough. And it's why, when you've got nine weeks – and really we've got 10 with the addition of that voluntary minicamp, being (our first as a staff) – you can't waste a single day."
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"He's around, he's hungry for information. There's even still some restrictions. Even if he wants to be there, you can't do anything that's football related. He's around though, and you can tell he's dying to get going. It's the same thing with (Rams QB) Sean Mannion, and a lot of those players. They're all around and they're present. Most of the guys have been in the building where you get a chance to meet them face-to-face. He's around and you want to be able to spend a lot more time with him."
(On the transition from adapting to the West Coast from the East Coast)
"I've had people joke with me. They say, 'You seem like an L.A. guy already.' But, it's been good. Anytime that you get a chance to go from Washington (D.C.) to L.A., I think it's really just getting used to the three-hour time difference. That's the one biggest change. I love being in a city with great weather. I like to be be outdoors as much as possible. It's like teasing me though, when you see how nice it is and you're inside doing some different stuff. But, I've loved every second of it."
