A Star Is Born

Sean McVay was 23-years old when joining the Washing-ton Redskins.

- Chris Russell

He was an offensive coaching assistant,completely unknown to everyone in the media and just about everyone in the NFL community. It was his first real crack at an NFL coaching position.

McVay coached with Jim Haslett in the now defunct UFL and with Raheem Morris and Jay Gruden in 2008 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The latter two would join the Redskins after McVay was hired. Haslett’s familiarity with McVay was a strong factor why the latter received an opportunity in 2010 under coach Mike Shanahan.

It also didn’t hurt McVay has strong NFL bloodlines. His grandfather, John McVay, was the head coach of the New York Giants before Sean was born and also key architect in the San Francisco 49ers dynasty under Bill Walsh.

Back then, the Redskins decided to introduce their new coaching staff to the media and therefore the fan base by having them sit at tables in the cafeteria in an informal setting.

For some reason, McVay was the first coach the media met that particular day. It was more of a “Hi, I-have-no-idea who-you-are” type of thing, but it was still enjoyable. It was impossible then to see what would take place over the next six-plus years. Completely impossible.

A couple of weeks later, McVay came up after practice and the conversation flowed from there. He remembered everything from the previous meeting. One quality a coach must have is a phenomenal memory and that is just one of McVay’s traits.

His pleasant demeanor has never changed. The former college receiver has movie star good looks and a football acumen that blows everybody away. You can’t find anybody that doesn’t love McVay.