McVay, who was born in Dayton, spent the past three seasons as the Washington Redskins’ offensive coordinator. He has been an assistant since 2010 in Washington, where he worked with head coach Jay Gruden to build a prolific offense led by quarterback Kirk Cousins.
“Really happy for Sean McVay!” Cousins tweeted.
McVay replaces Jeff Fisher, who was fired 13 games into the Rams' homecoming season in Los Angeles, and interim head coach John Fassel. The Rams finished 4-12 in their 13th consecutive non-winning season.
The Rams made the eye-catching move on the same day that the Chargers announced their relocation to Los Angeles to share the Rams' $2.6 billion stadium. The Chargers are still without a coach, but the Rams grabbed headlines with one of the most interesting names on the coaching market.
McVay wowed the Rams' top brass during two recent interviews, but he is an unorthodox choice for the franchise, which hasn't taken many extraordinary risks during owner Stan Kroenke's tenure. While McVay is respected as an up-and-coming NFL mind, he has understandably meager experience, including none as a head coach.
But perhaps risks are in order to snap the Rams out of their 12-year playoff drought. They've made the playoffs just four times in the last 27 years, all during a five-year span in St. Louis from 1999-2003, and they haven't had a winning record in Los Angeles since 1989.
Los Angeles has a young roster, but McVay is still younger than two of the Rams' players, defensive linemen William Hayes and Eugene Sims.
“He’s brought a lot to this football team, as far as offensively, and done a good job calling plays and utilizing the people that we have,” Gruden said recently.
Lane Kiffin was 31 years old when the Oakland Raiders hired him in January 2007. That hire didn’t go well, and McVay faces plenty of difficult work in his new job.
The Rams' offense has finished last in the NFL for two consecutive seasons. Quarterback Jared Goff was the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, but he struggled in his half-season as their starter, while top running back Todd Gurley had a dismal second NFL season behind the same struggling offensive line.
McVay could be well-equipped for the job of tutoring Goff: In Cousins' two seasons under McVay as the Redskins' starting quarterback, he twice broke the venerable franchise's records for yards passing and completions. Washington averaged 403 yards per game this season, while the Rams didn't have a 400-yard offensive game all year long.
Although McVay is a coaching youngster, he comes from a football family. His grandfather, John, also played at Miami, was the head coach at Dayton and as an executive helped put together the 49ers dynasty of the 1980s and ’90s.
Sean McVay played for the RedHawks from 2004 to 2007. He graduated in 2008. During his time as a RedHawk, he caught 39 passes for 312 yards.
Sean’s father, Tim, is an Alter High School grad who played football at Indiana. The family lived in Dayton until Sean was 6 years old.
(Staff Writer Marcus Hartman contributed to this story.)