From a friendship vantage point, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan certainly loves seeing his good friend, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, doing his job well. And the two spend plenty of time chatting together during the offseason.
However, from a competitive perspective, particularly within the hotly contested NFC West, Shanahan may secretly prefer if McVay was anywhere else but in L.A.
Apparently, this nearly came to reality a few years ago. McVay nearly called it quits after the 2022 season.
The source? McVay himself.
Sean McVay reveals he nearly walked away from coaching Rams
"I almost quit coaching," McVay told the Bussin' with the Boys Podcast in reflection of Los Angeles' 5-12 record in 2022 after winning the Super Bowl the previous season—one of the worst follow-up seasons to a league championship on record. "And you could use the narrative that I was going to go to media or whatever. But the truth would have been I was quitting."
The Rams certainly experienced the proverbial Super Bowl "hangover" that season, and Shanahan certainly has felt those, too, albeit having been on the wrong end of a championship loss.
Sean McVay on wanting to quit after the 2022 season —and how a conversation with his wife forced him to have a tough conversation with himself
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) May 19, 2026
This interview is incredible and I hope you all check it out on @BussinWTB pic.twitter.com/tVwjCox79D
But there's more from McVay that deserves mentioning.
"I couldn't handle the losing," McVay continued. "It was almost like a scarlet letter."
Ultimately, McVay's wife questioned his motivation for wanting to quit and convinced him to turn things around and remain.
From San Francisco's perspective, of course, Shanahan can appreciate just how close his chief NFC West rival came to being wholly turned inside out. It's unknown exactly what the Rams would be facing, had McVay opted to call it a career, considering both he and Shanahan are widely regarded as two of the best offensive minds in football today.
Of course, from that friendship perspective, Shanahan is certainly glad McVay stuck through that rough season.
On the flip side, though, perhaps there's a part of Shanahan wishing McVay was no longer in the division.
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