In 2018, Sean McVay was on top of the world. In just his second season as an NFL head coach, he led the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Jared Goff to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl appearance. Fast forward a few years, and McVay was the one who helped orchestrate Goff's departure to Detroit. But even after winning a Super Bowl with Goff's replacement, Matthew Stafford, McVay still carries some heavy regret about how it all went down.
Appearing on the podcast Bussin' With The Boys, McVay opened up about the trade, admitting he wasn't honest with Goff about the situation. He said he lacked the courage to tell his former quarterback that the team was exploring other options.
“I’m super sensitive to what an amateur I was with the Goff situation, trading him,” McVay said. “You want to talk about lack of courage, lack of clarity, lack of ability to be able to look somebody in the eye that you’ve had a lot of really cool experiences with and tell him, ‘Hey, not easy to say, but we might explore an opportunity to acquire Matthew Stafford, and you’ll be a part of a trade there.’ But instead, it’s like you kind of get frustrated, and it was more really about me than it was about him. I had a lot of things that I had to work through, and I didn’t handle that the right way. I’m not saying we wouldn’t have made the decision, but the handling of it was exactly the antithesis of how I would hope to handle things going forward.”
McVay emphasized that he wants to “operate with clarity for people” and admitted that if he could go back, he would have done things differently. He said he respects Goff for his honesty about how things were left between them and blames himself for the way it all unfolded.
“The important thing is to operate with clarity for people,” McVay said. “Did I have the courage to sit him down after that season in 2020 and tell him there’s a possibility we might explore some avenues that might lead to you not being our quarterback going forward? No. Would I handle it different now? Absolutely.”
McVay added, “I appreciate his honesty in all of that. There was nobody to blame but myself.”
This isn't the first time McVay has reflected on a tough season. He previously opened up about the 5-12 season that almost ended his coaching career, showing he's not afraid to admit when things go wrong.
Despite the raw deal Goff got, he has thrived in Detroit. He's coming off his fourth straight winning season with the Lions and ranks No. 2 on the team's all-time passing list. At 31, Goff has the potential to play another decade in Detroit if he stays healthy. While missing out on a Super Bowl with McVay might haunt him later, he's on track to retire as one of the all-time greats in Detroit sports history.
The Rams, meanwhile, have moved on with Stafford, but McVay's regret about the Goff trade serves as a reminder that even successful coaches can learn from their mistakes. As the NFL continues to evolve, McVay's candidness about his handling of the situation offers a glimpse into the human side of coaching decisions.
