Sean McVay explains 3 reasons why his assistants get hired as HCs

It's no secret that many recent NFL head coaching hires have worked under Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. Men like Kevin O'Connell, Zac Taylor, Matt LaFleur, Liam Coen and Raheem Morris are all head coaches now following stints with McVay, and more could follow in the coming years.

So, what does it take for an assistant under McVay to get looks as a head coaching job (other than, of course, his connection to McVay's success)? The Rams head coach offered three commonalities: "Character, capacity, and a heart for players."

"I think No. 1 — you better be a good person," McVay told reporters Friday. "There are too many ebbs and flows. It's too challenging and there are too many things that really try to divide you. We want to be inside-out. You want to have character. Are you a good person? Do you have a heart for people? Are you secure enough in yourself to be able to be accountable or have ownership of where you can consistently grow and be a never-ending learner, even as a coach? Do you have the capacity? Are you willing to work at the game to try to be able to provide our players with successful situations that we put them in both technically and schematically? Are we able to provide the fixes for them?

"Then I think the most important thing is, are you able to develop meaningful relationships that create a cohesive group through the natural challenges that this season will take you on with that journey? You better have all those things. I've been around a lot of people that check all those boxes.”

McVay's long answer to a simple question highlights why he's been so successful at finding assistants who can later become successful head coaches: He's thorough in his analysis of what makes a person a good person.

The biggest name on the docket right now is defensive coordinator Chris Shula. He's coached with McVay since both joined the Rams in 2017, and Shula is in command of the best defense in the NFL.

Shula will likely be one of the hotter head coaching candidate names when vacancies officially open up at the end of the 2025 NFL season. Whether or not he takes the job will entirely depend on Shula's own personal motivations. And, likely, if the Rams are actually competing for a Super Bowl in February. He may need to make a decision before that happens, though.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay has 3 reasons why his assistants get head coaching jobs