The Rams are off to a rough start in 2026, and that has already stirred up an old fear in Los Angeles: what if Sean McVay decides he’s done coaching?
A team that was expected by many to cruise toward the Super Bowl is sitting at 2-4 and alone in last place in the NFC West. The season is still young, but the noise around McVay’s future is getting louder, especially after Dan Patrick suggested on Monday that the head coach could have a broadcast booth waiting for him.
Patrick was talking on The Dan Patrick Show about Troy Aikman’s contract status with ESPN and Monday Night Football. Joe Buck has signed a new deal to stay on the telecast, but Aikman has not and is not expected back on MNF next year. That naturally led to the question of who ESPN might tab as a replacement, and McVay’s name came up.
“I think Sean McVay is gonna be in a booth. He's gonna be in a situation next year [where he could leave].
He had the opportunity [to leave] before,” Patrick said. “Sean McVay is [Jon] Gruden-like...
ESPN's gonna have some choices there with Joe [Buck]... I see Sean McVay [in the booth] sooner than later.”
Patrick compared McVay to Gruden because of the energy and edge he brings around the game, the kind of presence that translates cleanly to television.
The idea of McVay stepping away from coaching is not some brand-new concern for Rams fans. After the 2022 season, he mulled retirement following a disappointing year that saw the Rams fall short of the playoffs after winning the title in 2021. That backdrop makes this year feel familiar in all the wrong ways.
Six games in, the Rams are dealing with a pile of injuries that has left them battered. Myles Garrett, their major trade acquisition, played one game before going on IR.
Puka Nacua missed time with an injury. Jaylen Watson left a game a few weeks ago with an injury and sat out a game-and-a-half.
Trent McDuffie missed Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals. Davante Adams will also be out for a significant stretch with a hamstring injury.
With so much going wrong, the question becomes whether McVay would want to try again next season or consider a different path altogether. A move to television would not be without precedent.
Sean Payton left coaching after the 2021 season, worked as an in-studio host on FOX, then returned and landed with the Broncos. Patrick also pointed to Mike Tomlin as another coach who made the jump to broadcasting, noting that Tomlin appears to be enjoying his role on Football Night in America.
Patrick even mentioned the Kelce brothers as possible options for ESPN’s booth opening, and Rams fans would likely prefer that route if it means keeping McVay in place. For now, though, the possibility of McVay ending up on Monday Night Football is at least part of the conversation if the Rams’ season keeps sliding.
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