The future of quarterback Matthew Stafford isn’t the only thing being talked about with the Los Angeles Rams.
While Stafford signed a new contract to remain with the team for at least two more years, former NFL receiver Steve Smith Sr. thinks head coach Sean McVay could follow in his quarterback’s footsteps.
“Sean McVay may take a few years off because he has young children, you know,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “He’s one of those guys, he’s all in. He becomes a hermit of football when he’s in with football. And we all know you can’t do that and be a father, husband, you know, uncle, all that stuff. So you kind of need that time to just get your sabbatical.”
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, though, disagreed.
“That energy and that youth, combined with that brilliance, I don’t think he’s one that can step away from the game in the near future,” Smith said. “I just don’t see that in him.”
“Coach McVay may take a few years off [once Matthew Stafford retires].”
Steve Smith Sr. speaks on the Los Angeles Rams’ future with Ty Simpson at QB đ pic.twitter.com/KbEpOqewYo
â First Take (@FirstTake) May 29, 2026
This conversation revolved around what the Rams will look like in the post-Stafford era with Ty Simpson under center. L.A. took Simpson with the No. 13 pick in the 2026 draft, a move that surprised many given Stafford’s role on the team and the other areas the Rams could have addressed with a top pick.
Instead, the Rams went with Simpson, who will likely inherit the role vacated by Stafford. Because of that, some have considered the possibility that McVay would leave his position once Stafford is finished with football rather than start with a new quarterback under center.
Smith doesn’t think that will be the case, though, because of how proactive the Rams were with taking Stafford’s heir.
“When I think about Ty Simpson, there’s no controversy in him being drafted,” Smith added. “Matthew Stafford’s 38 years old. He turns 39 a week before the Super Bowl, OK? There was contemplation about retirement before last season. He comes out, he has an MVP year, he’s still got something left. But he’s not here for the long haul, and he knows that. If he was seven, eight years younger, something like that, it would be a different situation, and I don’t think Ty Simpson would have been drafted. … They knew that [retirement] was a possibility, and that’s why you draft Ty Simpson. So I don’t consider anything controversial about this pick, because you got to look towards the future when you’re looking for a quarterback.”
There were rumblings that McVay might leave back in 2023 for television and that the Rams would have allowed him to take a year off, but he ultimately stayed. Whether or not those rumors could manifest in a post-Stafford world remains to be seen, but McVay will have some time to see what the team could look like without Stafford and with Simpson over the next few years.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Ex-WR thinks Sean McVay will step away once Matthew Stafford retires