Two for one Sean-ing moment
Saints coach Payton, Rams coach McVay share name, Gruden ties
NEW ORLEANS — One way or another, the NFC Championship Game on Sunday between the Rams and Saints will be won by a coach named Sean who designs and calls plays for one of the most innovative and productive offenses in the NFL.
The ties between the Saints’ Sean Payton and the Rams’ Sean McVay go well beyond a shared name.
“We both cut our teeth in this league under Jon Gruden,” Payton said. “That [Rams] staff — there’s a ton of guys that we’re friendly with and that we know, guys we’ve worked with, and Sean and I have a real good relationship. He’s an engaging guy, a fun guy to be around.”
Gruden, the Raiders’ coach, was the offensive coordinator with the Eagles in 1997 when Payton was hired as quarterbacks coach. In 2008, Gruden was the coach for the Buccaneers and hired McVay as a receivers coach.
During the last two seasons, Payton and McVay have led their teams to the playoffs with top offenses, thanks in part to elite quarterbacks — the Saints’ Drew Brees and the Rams’ Jared Goff.
Both coaches have acknowledged they watch each other’s offensive film nearly every week — not just because of the possibility of playing against one another; they’re looking for good ideas.
And then there are some connections on the roster and coaching staff. One of the Rams’ top receivers, Brandin Cooks, was Payton’s first-round choice in 2014. Los Angeles’ running game coordinator is Aaron Kromer, a former running backs and offensive line coach under Payton, including on the 2009 Super Bowl-winning squad.
Players on both teams praise their coaches’ intangible feel for how a game is developing.
Saints Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead extolled Payton’s “fearlessness” in his play-calling and said he has “so much belief and confidence in us and the system that we can go out and make a play no matter the down and distance.”
Goff mentioned how McVay sends in plays “with confidence and having a good feel for everything.”
“There’s certain moments in games where you have to go for that dagger or you have to pull back a little bit,” Goff said. “There’s just different ebbs and flows in games. I think he’s got a great feel for that.”
The main thing that separates the two is age and experience. Payton, 55, got his first head-coaching job 13 years ago, is coaching in his third NFC title game and trying win his second Super Bowl. In his second season as a head coach, McVay, 32, is preparing for his first NFC title game.
The same goes for their QBs: the recordsetting Brees turned 40 on Tuesday, and Goff is 24.
“[Payton has] been doing it at a really high level for a lot longer than I have,” McVay said. “He’s an outstanding coach — clearly [reflected in] the way that his team is playing this year, how they’ve played over the course of his career when he’s been leading the Saints. So I don’t think we’re in that category yet. We’ve got to do things for a lot longer to be able to be mentioned in that same breath.”
Getting to a Super Bowl by beating the Saints would be a good start for McVay and the Rams, whose first loss this season came when they last visited the Superdome on Nov. 4 and fell 45-35.