After news broke Wednesday night that Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman was in deep negotiations with ESPN to be their new Monday Night Football analyst, it sent shockwaves across the NFL world and opened up a whole slew of questions about what happens next.
The biggest questions involved who might replace Aikman at Fox as well as how this would affect Amazon, who had been trying to hire Aikman as well for their new TNF booth. A whole bunch of other names got bandied about, including Greg Olsen, John Lynch, Drew Brees, and Sean Payton.
One of the more interesting names that had been put out there was Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. McVay made waves before the Super Bowl when he implied that it might be possible he’d retire from coaching and make a move to television. The 36-year-old with a seemingly encyclopedic memory of play calls has been on the radar of networks for some time. When the Rams won the Super Bowl, interest in McVay only got louder, but his fiance seemed to close the door on his retirement plans last week.
However, that didn’t stop reports and rumors circulating this week regarding a potential move to the booth with Andrew Marchand saying Amazon would go all-out to hire him away. Still, the possibility seemed unlikely given that McVay is just 36, has two Super Bowl appearances under his belt, and is set up to be a head coach in the NFL for decades to come if he wants it.
And that appears to be the case, at least for now. Adam Schefter reported Friday that McVay told ESPN “he is not pursuing any television opportunities and he is committed to helping the Rams defend their Super Bowl title.”
Sean McVay told ESPN today that he is not pursuing any television opportunities and he is committed to helping the Rams defend their Super-Bowl title. pic.twitter.com/0eUHzQ7Zue
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 25, 2022
The news was met with a lot of “yeah, no duh” reactions from NFL folks who didn’t ever think McVay would leave his cushy position. But there were plenty more reactions from around the NFL world as well, including those who think this flirtation was part of an attempt to get more money.
The fact Sean McVay was “retiring” was even a thing is downright laughable! 🤣🤣🤣
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 25, 2022
there is a huge inefficiency in what the best NFL head coaches are paid vs college coaches or top NFL media positions
if the Rams saw what McVay could have made doing TV & doubled his salary, hopefully it leads to more top tier NFL coaches getting paid https://t.co/Ido7FLqPPW
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 26, 2022
No surprise. #runitback 🐏 https://t.co/yynIZzUVN5
— Lance Taylor (@TheLanceTaylor) February 25, 2022
Somebody got PAID. https://t.co/HPrv6YhqLL
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 25, 2022
I, for one, am shocked https://t.co/7ZtygzjlvU
— Dan Vasko (@danvasko) February 25, 2022
Honestly this is better for football https://t.co/0ubzSiAqTV
— Michael Beck (@MichaelBeck56) February 25, 2022
If you’re looking for McVay, you’ll find him on the Rams’ sideline for the foreseeable future.
[Adam Schefter, AA]
