As much as this Rams season ended in disappointment, I’m trying to look at the big picture. Sean McVay was extended as head coach, as was Les Snead as general manager. In the nine seasons with Sean McVay as head coach, the Rams have had a winning record in eight of those nine seasons, with four NFC West titles, three NFC Championship appearances, two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win. In the 12 seasons prior to McVay arriving, they never had a winning record. This organization has clearly been turned into a successful one when you actually step back and look at the big picture. When people say McVay lost them the game and that they should make a change at head coach, it comes off as a pretty ridiculous belief. In the 12 seasons before McVay got there, only once did the Rams even go into the final game of the season with a chance to make the playoffs with a win. Most of the fans making these ridiculous statements are probably newer fans who don’t remember what it was like before. I have been a Rams fan since I was six years old, and it sure makes me feel old that I’m getting close to the point where I’ll have been a fan for half of a century. With sports, as a fan, coaching or playing losing is supposed to hurt. Again, thinking big picture, in a strange way we need to appreciate the hurt of losing. Losing and feeling that hurt is a lot better than losing just being what’s expected. When it comes to coaching, I often tell players to embrace the hurt, remember it, and do everything you can so you don’t have to feel this again.
