WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Rams head coach Sean McVay held an end-of-season video conference with reporters Monday morning recapping the 2025 season and looking ahead to the offseason, discussing the futures of quarterback Matthew Stafford, offensive lineman Rob Havenstein and tight end Tyler Higbee, the search for a new offensive coordinator, his evaluation of the cornerback position and more.
More on those top takeaways below:
Rams giving Stafford time to decide future, but McVay thinks QB doesn't want to drag decision out
Because Stafford has been in a year-to-year arrangement with the team, McVay was asked whether he expects QB1 to be part of the team next year.
"I think that if that's something that he wants to do, the answer is absolutely yes," McVay said. "... What's great is, he's going to take his time, talk with (his wife) Kelly and the girls, and see what's best. But man, is he still playing at an incredible level. Our hope is that he does. But I think, with respect to his timetable and ability to be able to communicate with you guys whenever he feels ready to make that announcement, we'll let him be able to do that."
McVay said Stafford "deserves as much time as he needs" to make that decision. While they aren't setting any sort of timetable on that decision, "I don't get the sense that he wants to let it drag on, either."
McVay has spoken with Havenstein and Higbee about their futures, also giving them time to decide
After Havenstein confirmed he's weighing returning to play a 12th season or retirement, McVay said he's spoken with both him and Higbee, but is giving them the time and space to make those decisions, similar to how he's approaching things with Stafford.
"I think it's very similar to Matthew... Give them a little bit of time, let them digest, unpack the emotions of where they're at," McVay said. "Whether they continue to play, or whether they don't want to play anymore, they've been legacy players, they've been legacy human beings, more importantly."
Rams have internal candidates for offensive coordinator, but will likely conduct "extensive" search
The Cardinals' hiring of Mike LaFleur as head coach has created an opening at offensive coordinator on McVay's staff. While McVay said they have candidates for the opening already on staff, the process likely will involve an "extensive search."
"I did think that this was something that could occur, so we've got great candidates in-house," McVay said. "Based on the rules and I think what is the appropriate thing, are you going to do an extensive search to really just dive into what's going to be the best way to bring in new people that help us continue to build and grow towards where we want to go?"
That does mean that, like years past, addressing coaching staff turnover will eat into McVay's vacation time.
"It never fails," McVay said with a smile. "Every time me and my wife go on vacation, somebody's usually getting a head job and then I'm spending too much time on my phone."
Cornerback will be looked into, in part because of natural contract situations with impending free agents
A frequent topic of discussion throughout the season was the Rams' secondary, in particular the cornerback position. That group used a unique approach to its rotation, and McVay felt like they had multiple starting-caliber corners in Cobie Durant, Darious Williams, Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Ahkello Witherspoon. Los Angeles' defense as a whole finished with the 19th-ranked pass defense for the 2025 regular season, though that statistic does not fall solely on the shoulders of that group.
Asked about his evaluation of that position and how that will influence their thinking and approach this offseason, McVay had praise for those four as well as mid-season acquisition Roger McCreary, but said that they will "definitely" look into the position – discussions that will be spurred in part because of those players' contract situations. McCreary, Witherspoon and Durant are impending unrestricted free agents.
"There's a lot of discussions," McVay said. "I thought we had a rotation of guys, and I thought they did a really good job. And then there was some games that we had some tough things that occurred. But Cobie had a bunch of ball production this year. I think there were certain games that you really saw, what Emmanuel Forbes can hope to be on a consistent basis. Darious has played really good quality football for us for years, and he's an experienced vet. And then Ahkello has done really good stuff for us. He just wasn't able to ever really get (to) where he's able to play long enough to stay healthy. And so those are your main four corners that you're playing with on the outside. I thought Roger McCreary did some really good stuff when he got a chance and an opportunity to play later on in the season, but obviously, with just the contract situation in general of a lot of those guys, that's a spot that we'll definitely look closely into and figure out, how do we consistently figure what's the best things for our football team? But there was a lot of lot of good stuff that they did, and then a lot of things that we can all collectively improve upon."
