Could OBJ, Aaron Donald, Sean McVay all walk off into the sunset?
Tue, Feb 15, 2022
NFL News (AP)
However, now that the ultimate goal has been achieved, a few of their key contributors could be contemplating the thought of walking off into the sunset.
In the week heading into Super Bowl LVI, rumbling began to get louder that head coach Sean McVay was wrestling with the idea of retiring in the near future.
In five seasons as the head coach of the Rams, McVay has compiled a 55-26 record (.679), winning at least nine games every season. The Rams have made the playoffs in four of his five seasons at the helm, and he has already accumulated 10 playoff wins, including becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl at the age of 36.
With such an accomplished resume in a short period of time, is it possible that McVay could walk away from one of the best jobs in the NFL?
When talking to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, McVay was non-committal on whether he would return to the sidelines in 2022 or walk away.
"I'm just enjoying this moment right now," McVay said. "I'm really happy to be a part of this. Happy for that."
If McVay were to step away from coaching, it has been widely speculated that he could join the media, a la Drew Brees, Tony Romo and a host of others.
With that option on the table, Colin Cowherd believes it makes sense for McVay to weigh his options and not give a definitive statement in regard to his future.
"The more options you have in life, you should give fewer absolute answers," Cowherd said on "The Herd."
While the conversation of retirement swirled around McVay in the days leading into the Super Bowl, NBC Sports NFL analyst Rodney Harrison dropped a bombshell right before Super Bowl kickoff, announcing that Rams superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald was mulling retirement as well if L.A. won a ring.
Donald's resume, much like McVay's, is loaded. In eight professional seasons, he has won Defensive Rookie of the Year, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, been named to the Pro Bowl eight times and been named an All-Pro seven times.
Upon winning the Super Bowl, Donald made a commitment to return to the Rams under one condition: if Sean McVay remains the head coach.
And then there is the case of Odell Beckham Jr.
The superstar wide receiver once again re-established himself as one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL upon joining the Rams, scoring seven touchdowns in 12 games with the team, which is an NFL record for a player that switched franchise midway through a season.
Much like McVay and Donald, OBJ's resume is littered with accolades, including an Offensive Rookie of the Year award, three Pro Bowl nods and two All-Pro selections.
But unlike McVay and Donald, his decision to walk away from football could be due to injury, considering there are fears that he tore the ACL in his left knee for the second time in 16 months, an injury which occurred in the second quarter of the Super Bowl.
Nick Wright believes it would be the perfect time for Beckham to hang up the cleats.
"I think this as good as it gets," Wright said on "First Things First."
"He's hurt. He's going to be 30 the next time he plays. He's made $80 million, and if the final image we have of Odell Beckham Jr. on the football field is catching a touchdown and then crying tears of utter joy, and tears of utter completion of a life's goal, I think it's great."
McVay, Donald and Beckham are three of the biggest names in the league, and if they were all to call it quits at once, at least they would be going out on top.
But there is always the allure of running it back just one more time.
