Super Bowl Coaching Battle: Sean McVay vs. Zac Taylor
When the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals take the field on Sunday for Super Bowl LVI, most of the attention will be focused on the battle between the players. One of the most important battles will take place between the coaches who stand on opposite sides of the field: Sean McVay and Zac Taylor.
Sean McVay, who has been the Rams head coach since 2017, will be looking to become the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl. At age 36, this will already be McVay’s second opportunity to win it all.
McVay coached Los Angeles to Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots in 2019. The Rams lost that game 13-3, as they were unable to get anything going on offense.
Following their convincing win against the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round, the Rams have played two close games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers. McVay and his staff have not gotten a full 60-minute effort from the team since their game against the Cardinals.
The Rams nearly blew a 27-3 lead to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the Divisional Round and failed to get their offense going until the fourth quarter against the 49ers.
With offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, McVay has a staff that strives for creativity and explosiveness. With the influx of talent that has been brought in since that last Super Bowl, which includes quarterback Matthew Stafford and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, McVay’s staff can do just that.
The Rams mix up their schemes and personnel packages often leaving the opposing team to switch up their game plan.
Despite having a short head coaching career thus far, McVay is starting to create his coaching tree. O’Connell took the Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching job during the week and Morris had several interviews but did not get his chance this go around.
One of the members of McVay’s coaching tree is the coach that will be on the opposing sideline on Sunday: Zac Taylor. Taylor was the Rams’ quarterback coach during that 2019 Super Bowl loss.
Following that loss, Taylor was hired to help turn around the Bengals. In his first two seasons, Taylors failed to do so, winning a total of six games. Due to their poor performances, Taylor had high draft picks to work with and was able to add Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase in the two most recent drafts.
With the young talent, Taylor led the Bengals to 10 regular-season wins this season. Following the successful regular season, Taylor has coached the Bengals through three tough matchups to a Super Bowl berth.
With the help of offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, both of which took head coaching interviews this offseason, Taylor has made all of the right moves this postseason.
After beating the Raiders in the Wild Card Round, the Bengals beat the top team in the AFC, the Tennessee Titans, and the reigning AFC Champion, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Taylor and his staff found a way to create offense despite having a very shaky offensive line. That offensive line allowed an NFL record nine sacks in the Divisional Round against the Titans. The very next week, the Bengals allowed just one sack against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Against a tough and talented Rams’ defensive line, Taylor will once again need to create a game plan that gets the ball out quickly and keeps the franchise centerpiece protected.
Taylor has had no hesitation in deploying rookie kicker Evan McPherson in big moments this postseason. McPherson is a perfect 12-12 on field goals so far and has become one of Taylor’s most consistent weapons.
Justin Ciavolella is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
