Rams make 30-year-old ‘prodigy’ Sean McVay the youngest head coach in NFL history

David Richard/AP

The Los Angeles Rams announced on Thursday that they hired Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay as their new head coach.

McVay, 30, is now the youngest head coach in NFL history — a title previously held by Lane Kiffin, whom the Raiders hired in 2007.

In their first season back in Los Angeles, the Rams stumbled to a 4-12 season and fired head coach Jeff Fisher after a 4-9 start. Their rookie quarterback, Jared Goff, struggled during his first season as a pro — and by all accounts, McVay was hired explicitly to make Goff better.

In August, The MMQB called McVay a prodigy. The grandson of longtime 49ers executive John McVay, Sean graduated from Miami (Ohio) in 2008. After some time under Jon Gruden’s wing, he was hired in 2010 by Mike Shanahan in Washington as an offensive quality control coach.

From there, he quickly worked his way up to an assistant receivers coach and then to tight ends coach. When Shanahan was fired in 2014 and replaced by Jay Gruden, McVay became offensive coordinator. In 2015, he started calling the offensive plays.

According to The MMQB, McVay is beloved by both his fellow coaches and his players.

That won’t, of course, make his first head coaching gig any easier. After trading up to take Goff first overall last year, the Rams have very few high draft picks this season and a dearth of talent on the offensive side of the ball. The defense is stronger, and Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that McVay would try to recruit veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to lead that unit.

In the end, it will take a few more seasons for the Rams return to relevancy. But in the meantime, with a 30-year-old coach, they’ll certainly be interesting.