Sean McVay
On January 12, 2017, McVay was hired to become the 28th head coach of the Los Angeles Rams at the age of 30 years, 11 months, 19 days. The Rams had made him the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, surpassing Lane Kiffin, who was 31 years, 8 months, 14 days old when hired by the Oakland Raiders in 2007.
History of the St. Louis Rams
Despite having a talent-laden roster, the Rams’ front-office dysfunction had traveled from California to Missouri. With team president John Shaw remaining in Los Angeles after the relocation, president of football operations Jay Zygmunt clashed with head coach Martz, including an incident in which Zygmunt prevented the ill Martz from phoning in a play to his offensive coordinator. Poor draft choices and mediocre records began to pile up for the once-budding dynasty as the post-Martz era found the Rams in chaos. Hoping to regain control within the franchise, the Rams hired former Dolphins offensive coordinator Scott Linehan as head coach on January 19, 2006. On January 24, Jim Haslett, the former head coach of the Saints, signed a three-year deal as defensive coordinator.
Following the 2007 season, Georgia Frontiere died on January 18, 2008 after having owned the team for 28 years. Ownership of the team passed to her son Dale “Chip” Rosenbloom and daughter Lucia Rodriguez. Rosenbloom was named the new Rams majority owner. Linehan was fired on September 29, 2008, after the team started the 0–4, and Haslett took over as interim head coach for the rest of the season. In late December, Shaw and Zygmunt both resigned and Billy Devaney was promoted to general manager.
Steve Spagnuolo was named head coach in January 2009. Spagnuolo had masterminded the Giants’ defensive scheme that shut down the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. As the 2009 season began, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh put in an offer to buy the Rams, but his controversial televised comments about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb in 2003 led the league to force Limbaugh to drop his plans. In spite of his success with the Giants, Spagnuolo's first season as Rams head coach was terribly disappointing as the team went 1–15, beginning with a shutout at the hands of the Seahawks. The team's lone victory came in Week 8 over the 2–14 Detroit Lions. However, Spagnuolo was not fired after his poor first season. From 2007 to 2009, the Rams lost 42 of 48 games.