Rams' Sean McVay Speaks on Aubrey Pleasant Taking Over as Head Coach

Valentina Martinez | Aug 16, 2024

Sep 17, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay walks with coach Aubrey Pleasant to the field to warm up before the game against the Washington Redskins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Sean McVay announced that Aubrey Pleasant will step into the role of Los Angeles Rams head coach in Saturday's preseason game.

"Aubrey will be the head coach, so it'll be really cool. I'll be up in the coach's booth and he'll be doing his thing," McVay said. "We'll see if he throws the flag at the right times."

The Rams will take on their cross-town rivals, the Chargers. This gives Pleasant the opportunity to coach against legendary football figure, Jim Harbaugh.

McVay believes his colleague is ready to assume the role of head coach and recalls his own opportunities in Washington to practice leading a team.

"No, he doesn’t need any tips. Listen, I wouldn’t follow my lead, but he is ready to go," McVay said with a smile. "He’s earned this right, and really it’s more of just going through some of the mechanics. Meeting with the officials, handling some of the different things as it relates to timeouts, being able to communicate with both sides. And again, we take these games, we approach very differently but I think to be able to get those reps for the leadership role that he plays for our team. But also to be able to get those chances, I remember when I got opportunities when I was in Washington. Those were really cool things that I look back on and I really appreciate in hindsight that maybe I didn’t realize how beneficial and valuable they were."

Before another stint with the Rams, Pleasant worked with two other NFC teams, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.

This is Pleasant's second time working with the Rams, but he entered the NFL as a coach in 2013. Pleasant began his NFL coaching career with the Cleveland Browns as an offensive staff and head coach intern. Pleasant then spent a few seasons with Washington until 2016. Then he made his way to Los Angeles as a cornerbacks coach for four seasons.

"And, you know, like I’ve mentioned to you guys, he’s earned the right of assistant head coach because of the influence and the positive effect that he has on everyone in this building and so, really, I think it’s a great earned opportunity and he’ll do an excellent job," McVay said. "And that certainly isn’t exclusive to whatever the result is. It’s more of the management and the way that you handle everything from the players to the coaches."