Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse's boisterous confidence can usually be heard ringing through the Rams' practice facility on a daily basis. But two weeks into his sophomore season, the voice that usually shook the building had been muted slightly.

Verse wasn't having the success he'd become accustomed to, and the constant double teams got in his head. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year had resigned himself to eating up blocks to free up his teammates, rather than being the high-impact power rusher that earned him that honor.

That's when head coach Sean McVay brought Verse into his office and showed him highlights from his rookie season.

"'This is the guy I know. These first two games, we're going to completely forget about them. This is the guy I know,'" Verse recalled McVay saying. "From then on, I was like, I have to be better. Not just for my own sake, but to make him proud because he took a chance on bringing me (in)."

That Sunday in Philadelphia, Verse registered a crucial strip-sack and two tackles for loss. In the six weeks following the heart-to-heart, he sacked the quarterback three times, tied for second in the NFL in pressures with 27 and led the league in quarterback hits with 11, according to Pro Football Focus.

McVay has showed Verse examples of his dominance throughout the season, whenever he's felt the second-year star needed a boost. He did it again ahead of Week 17, and Verse promptly made a game-changing play, single-handedly creating the Rams' first blocked field goal returned for a touchdown since 1986.

"Sometimes we're looking for answers and it can be as simple as, let's go back and see myself having successful outcomes," McVay said. "... I think seeing is more important and more powerful than anything you can say."

McVay is often lauded for his offensive ingenuity and elite play calling, but his real super power is his ability to connect with people. Those inside the Rams' facility feel the effect that his genuine care has on everyone around him, as he breathes belief into the entire organization. McVay truly personifies the "We then me" mantra that is draped throughout the Rams' facility.

And after enduring two tough losses just before the playoffs, the Rams could use some belief. Lucky for them, they have the perfect courier of it at the helm.

"It's people first and players second," McVay said. "I think that's the job of a coach is to shine light on others, and that's what we really try to do in an authentic way."

When Kyren Williams broke his foot during training camp of his rookie season, he had yet to become the star running back and team captain that he is now. He was a fifth-round pick, buried in the depth chart under proven backs like Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson.

But that didn't stop McVay from stretching out a hand to a person in need.

Williams wears his emotions on his sleeve, and he was hurting. His opportunity to prove himself in training camp had been cut short, and he wasn't sure he'd get another. But as he sat in a hotel room in Irvine, CA, with a boot on his foot, he got a text from McVay telling him that he'd be back, and he'd be better.

"I started crying because this means so much to me and for my coach to come out and text me when I was at my roughest times in my rookie year, it meant so much to me," Williams said.

Three years later, Williams and his agent negotiated a contract extension with the Rams after two-straight seasons with 1,100 rushing yards and 10-plus touchdowns. He wanted McVay involved in those discussions.

"I haven't had a coach that really, really connected to me on a real level (until McVay)," Williams said. "Coach McVay, like I said, he's more worried about me as a human being than as a player. And so just being able to have him in those (contract) negotiations, throughout the whole time, to me, it showed me that my coach cares about me."

McVay's support isn't exclusive to players, though. When first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula struggled to start the 2024 season, a simple question from McVay galvanized a revolution for Shula: "What'd you do at John Carroll?"

In 2014, Shula led John Carroll to one of the best defenses in Division III as a first-time coordinator. And he did so while having to adapt his defense to the players in the building, having coached a completely different scheme in his previous roles at Ball State and Indiana.

He did the same thing with the Rams by just being himself, rather than who he thought he should be.

"That resonated with me," Shula said of McVay's advice. "I know he's got my back. He's always believed in me. That's a big feeling when you feel safety like that as a coach, when you're not out walking on eggshells if you make a call or do this defense or you make a mistake, it allows you to be a lot freer, and we want our players to play like that too."

"You almost got to have a little 'F it' in you and start trying stuff out and making mistakes," Shula told theRams.com.

Those small shows of support go a long way. When players are rehabbing from injuries or the typical bumps and bruises that come from an NFL game, McVay will often stop by the training room.

He initiates conversations about life, family, anything but football. He makes sure that players are okay mentally as well as physically, and that's something they don't take for granted.

And when someone misses a play they're supposed to make, McVay never scolds. Everyone the Rams bring into their building wants to be great, and he knows that reproach won't facilitate progress.

"It's always like a positive reinforcement," said inside linebacker Omar Speights. "It's like, 'Hey, this has got to be done better this way,' but it's not one of those negative things."

And inversely, when players aren't getting opportunities to prove themselves, McVay implores them to stay ready. He tells them that he believes in their capacity to make an impact, and their moment will come.

That exact situation unfolded earlier this season with Xavier Smith, who primarily contributed as a punt returner, but has taken advantage of opportunities as a wide receiver in the latter part of the year.

"Just understand that I'm built for these types of moments and he's been preaching that on a consistent basis, so it's only right that I believe that when it's my time to get out there and perform during those opportunities," Smith said.

Last week against the Cardinals, Smith led the Rams in receiving yards and converted a key fourth down as well as a third-and-long.

McVay uses team meetings as one of his primary avenues to demonstrate belief in people. Every time the Rams add a new player, McVay puts together a highlight tape to show the impact they can make and expresses his excitement to have them on board.

A video of him doing that for wide receiver Davante Adams this offseason went viral on social media, but that wasn't the first highlight reel of Adams that McVay made.

Early in the free agent period, Adams was vacationing with his family in Japan. A lot of teams reached out, but none were as persistent as McVay and the Rams. He even sent two personally narrated highlight tapes of Adams, explaining what he liked about Adams' game and how the Rams would use him in their offense. It was around 10 minutes of film combined.

"I was talking to him more than I was talking to my wife," Adams said. "He definitely showed a lot of interest.

"It just shows how much ball means to him and how much of a priority I was for him and the rest of the guys here because it's not just him making those decisions. When you have that from a coach, you're on the free market and you don't see it from anybody else to that level, it means a lot."

The vision that McVay pitched has come to life, as Adams leads the NFL with 14 touchdown grabs despite missing the last three games with a hamstring injury.

A year earlier, when McVay recruited safety Kam Curl to the team, he wasn't quite as aggressive, but still expressed his vision for how he wanted to deploy Curl within the defense. McVay sent him videos featuring his versatility and playmaking in Washington and told Curl that he wanted to accentuate those traits with the Rams.

That was something Curl wanted for himself, which made signing with the team an easy decision. And when he entered the building, those same highlights were played in front of his new teammates.

"I feel like he does a great job of being able to bring the most out of players," Curl said. "When he sees that you have that, he can bring it out."

But it's not only on-field accomplishments that McVay wants to celebrate. When someone welcomes a child into the world, that's the first thing he brings up in the team meeting. Or, when someone competes in a nationally televised singing competition that hides their identity until a certain point, McVay will show that off as well.

Defensive end Kobie Turner (aka Goo on The Masked Singer) had his identity revealed on a Tuesday night episode, after he advanced all the way to the quarterfinals. On Wednesday, McVay had a video compilation ready to play in front of the team, celebrating Turner's success on the show.

"He's been one of the main people leading the way of, 'Be exactly who you are,'" Turner said. "... The way that he celebrates us as a human being allows us to bring our best selves on the field."

But lately, the Rams haven't been their best selves as a collective. Two-straight losses have dropped the Rams from the No. 1 seed to No. 6 in the NFC playoff picture entering Week 18. And while they fought valiantly against Seattle in an overtime loss, McVay acknowledged that they "didn't play very well" against the Falcons on Monday night in a 27-24 defeat.

Now, it's time for McVay to do what he does best, to use his super power on the entire team, rather than just one person. Like most powers, it takes a little more effort and preparation to affect a large group, but he's more than up to the task, and it's one he's already begun.

After the most recent loss, McVay gave an "authentic" speech. Turner said McVay told the team postgame that if they played like they just had in mid-to-late January, they'd be sitting on the couch in early February instead of preparing for battle in Santa Clara, CA.

"It's not a premeditated deal where I'm saying before the game, 'If we play this way, this is how I'm going to act,'" McVay said. "I think what I'm always trying to be able to do is make sure that whatever that response that you're hunting up is, you want to be able to strike the right balance.

"I don't want guys feeling tight after that or anything of that nature. I'm not saying I always hit the mark, but I always try to be able to do the right thing. I missed a lot. You try to make sure that you're acknowledging that as well."

McVay talks through the things they want to replicate as well as what they'd like to learn from.

"Sometimes we'll do those in team settings, sometimes we'll do those individually. It's whatever is needed," McVay said. "... Nobody's above being coached, especially not me in these types of settings."

For McVay, it's been "We then me" and "People then players," and he knows Los Angeles has the people necessary to bounce back and go on a Super Bowl run. They also just happen to be some of the world's best football players.