Sean McVay says joining media would’ve meant ‘quitting because I couldn’t handle the losing’
Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports Sean McVay has been one of the most coveted potential media personalities in sports for years. And it turns out the closest he came to actually doing it had nothing to do with a passion for sports media. On a recent episode of Bussin’ With The Boys , McVay opened up about just how dark his headspace was following the Rams’ 5-12 season in 2022 — the year after he won the Super Bowl — and what was really behind all of those headlines during that period.
“You could use the narrative that I was going to go to media or whatever,” McVay said, “but like the truth would have been I was quitting because I couldn’t handle the losing. ” Ever since the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, McVay has been a persistent target for television networks looking to land the next Tony Romo . When the Rams collapsed the following season, those rumors fired up again, with networks reportedly making serious runs at him.
McVay told Adam Schefter he was committed to the Rams’ title defense and not pursuing any TV opportunities. Then the Rams went 5-12, the roster was stripped down due to financial constraints, and the media speculation fired back up again. Networks reportedly made another run at him early in 2023 , and McVay acknowledged the interest while insisting his focus remained on coaching .
What McVay is saying now is that he was, at least in part, using the media interest as a socially acceptable exit. It wasn’t that broadcasting was appealing. It was that losing had broken something in him, and he wasn’t sure he could put it back together.
“My identity, whether I realize it or not, was so fixated on winning and losing,” McVay admitted. “It was like my self-worth… I was counting down the days for that season to be over. What a fraud.