THOUSAND OAKS Aqib Talib Jersey , Calif. (AP) — winter seem to be looking for the next Sean McVay.The original is still hard at work for the Los Angeles Rams, hoping to justify his enormous influence on the football world with a big postseason run.“I’m too young to have a coaching tree,” the 32-year-old McVay said with a laugh Tuesday.Maybe so, but McVay has put down impressive roots in just two seasons, and his Rams could blossom this month.Two years to the day after McVay became the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, he will attempt to earn his first playoff victory Saturday night when the Rams (13-3) host the Dallas Cowboys (11-6) for a trip to the NFC championship game.The Rams already have won 24 regular-season games and two NFC West titles under McVay, and they’re just two more victories away from their first Super Bowl trip in 17 years.McVay is invariably modest about his accomplishments with the Rams, but his success represents a blueprint that other franchises are following.With Matt LaFleur and Kliff Kingsbury landing top jobs in the past two days alone, practically every owner and general manager seem to be seeking an energetic young coach on the cutting edge of offensive thinking to transform their franchise.“It’s certainly humbling and flattering,” McVay said. “But I think, like anything else, it’s a reflection of everybody that’s been a part of this. That’s what you love so much about football. I’m put in a better position to succeed … based on the people that are around you here.”A direct personal connection to McVay himself clearly doesn’t hurt, either: Green Bay and Arizona have proved it this week by hiring coaches who fit McVay’s mold and have personal ties to him. LaFleur was on McVay’s staff with the Rams last year, while Kingsbury is a good friend and like-minded offensive innovator.Two of McVay’s current assistant coaches — Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor and passing game coordinator Shane Waldron — also landed recent interviews for head coaching jobs.“I don’t laugh, I get it Marcus Peters Jersey ,” Rams center John Sullivan said. “Look at how fast the turnaround was here. Look at the job (McVay) has done so far. I don’t blame teams. I think it is perfectly logical to try to look for a guy in his mold.”LaFleur was a longtime quarterbacks coach until McVay hired him as his offensive coordinator in 2017. He parlayed that position into the offensive coordinator job in Tennessee, where he got to call plays — and just one year later, he reportedly landed one of the NFL’s highest-profile head coaching jobs with the Packers.McVay spoke with LaFleur shortly before his interview in Green Bay.“Matt, obviously, he’s one of my closest friends,” said McVay, who worked alongside LaFleur on the Redskins’ offensive staff. “To see that for him, you couldn’t be more excited. He’s a great football coach. Got a great understanding of offensive football. … When you see those types of things, you can’t do anything but just be really happy for a close friend.”Kingsbury is coming off three consecutive losing seasons as the head coach at Texas Tech, but he improbably landed right next to McVay in the NFC West as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach. Although McVay and Kingsbury haven’t coached together, their similarities are obvious.“I know he’ll do a great job,” McVay said. “We’ll try to get after him twice a year, but other than that, I’m excited for Kliff. … He’s a great coach. Great communicator. Great understanding of how to apply pressure to a defense.”Kingsbury is tasked with fixing the worst offense in the NFL, which is exactly what McVay did. With a mature leadership style and cutting-edge offensive ideas Brandin Cooks Jersey , McVay transformed a franchise with 13 straight non-winning seasons and 12 consecutive non-playoff seasons into division champions at 11-5.McVay didn’t rest after an opening-round playoff loss to Atlanta, either. The Rams finished this season with the NFL’s best record at 13-3, and McVay unveiled innumerable variations and innovations on his own offensive schemes, keeping defenses largely befuddled.McVay steadfastly avoids taking sole credit for the Rams’ achievements, constantly crediting his assistants and support staff when asked about any successes. And as he has probably already told LaFleur and Kingsbury, any offensive mastermind’s ultimate success probably hinges on his defensive coordinator.McVay still leans heavily on coordinator Wade Phillips. The 71-year-old former Cowboys head coach provides his millennial boss with a veteran perspective that has greased McVay’s learning curve considerably.“If the last two years have taught me anything about being in this role, it’s (that) you’d better surround yourself with a lot of people that are better than you, so that you can learn every day,” McVay said. Here’s what will shape the course of the draft this year." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteTurf Show Timesa Los Angeles Rams communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpSectionsLibraryMastheadCommunity GuidelinesNFL OddsStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteSections 2019 offseason2019 free agency2019 NFL DraftFull ArchiveLibrary 2019 NFL calendar2019 Rams regular season sched2019 Rams preseason schedMasthead Community Guidelines NFL Odds StubHub ✕Filed under:2019 NFL DraftThese five hinges will determine the path of the 2019 NFL DraftNew,25commentsHere’s what will shape the course of the draft this year.CDTShareTweetShareShareThese five hinges will determine the path of the 2019 NFL DraftHouston Cougars DL Ed Oliver waits between plays against the Oklahoma Sooners, Sep 3, 2016.Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty ImagesThe 2019 NFL Draft starts tomorrow in Nashville. While the Los Angeles Rams aren’t scheduled to get involved until the 31st overall pick, anything could happen.But our team aside, here are the five things that will shape the early course of the draft.Sorting through the quarterbacksNothing dominates early draft activity or motivates trades up more than quarterback prospects. While at this point we’d all be surprised if the Arizona Cardinals don’t take Oklahoma Sooners QB Kyler Murray with the 1st overall pick, there are plenty of other QBs of note.Ohio State Buckeyes QB Dwayne Haskins is likely the next man up Ndamukong Suh Jersey , but whereto is anyone’s guess. Could the Oakland Raiders go for him at #4? Would that motivate anyone to trade up to the #3 spot to poach him?Final Monday mock from MTD has Rams taking a player who won’t play in 2019Mississippi St. Bulldogs CL Jeffery Simmons forces a fumble from South Carolina Gamecocks RB A.J. Turner, Sep. 10, 2016.Matt Bush-USA TODAY SportsWhere does Missouri Tigers QB Drew Lock land? In this week’s Monday mock from Mocking the Draft’s Dan Kadar, Lock precedes Haskins at #10 to the Denver Broncos with Haskins a pick later to the Cincinnati Bengals. Duke Blue Devils QB Daniel Jones comes a half dozen selections later to the New York Giants at #17. That’s their second pick of the round, so their first pick at #6 could also be where they take Eli Manning’s successor.Those four seem to be the conventional wisdom’s top tier, but things always get wacky on draft day. Could any of the other QB prospects reach into the first round? You could make a case for five of the teams in the final six picks including the Rams but not the Kansas City Chiefs to be in play for a quarterback in the draft. While the Rams could well get their backup QB of the future this draft, I don’t think any of us think he’s coming via the 31st overall pick. Nonetheless, there could well be a similar situation to the top of the draft with QB-interested teams to either pick on themselves or motivate a trade from the early 2nd round to come into Thursday’s proceedings.West Virginia Mountaineers QB Will Grier, Auburn Tigers QB Jarrett Stidham, Boise State Broncos QB Brett Rypien, Northwestern Wildcats QB Clayton Thorson and Buffalo Bulls QB Tyree Jackson will all factor somewhere. Perhaps they’ve got a suitor lined up late in the first?Regardless, the need to fill the top of depth chart for teams at the sport’s most important position remains the biggest driver in the draft every year.Who will redshirt DL Jeffery Simmons?In the 2016 Fiesta Bowl in what would be his final game with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, LB Jaylon Smith tore his ACL and LCL. It was a brutal ending to a fine career that threw his draft status into disarray. While he was considered by many to be a top-16 pick in terms of talent, his injury saw him fall all the way into the second round to be picked 34th overall by the Dallas Cowboys.In early February this year, Mississippi St. Bulldogs DT Jeffery Simmonstore his ACL in a pre-combine workout. Often lauded as a top-10 talent Dante Fowler Jersey , Simmons is likely destined for a similar fall. Smith has turned into one of the NFL’s brightest young backers being named PFF’s breakout player for 2018. Has that prompted less of a fall for Simmons this year? Worth noting here that Kadar had the Rams taking Simmons in that final Monday mock I mentioned earlier.Assuming Houston Cougars DT Ed Oliver is off the board in the first half of the first round, expect to hear Simmons name bouncing around thereafter.The Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay PackersEach of these teams have multiple picks in the first round with the Raiders owning three such selections. How they use them, or package them in trades, will obviously chart the first round’s course. But with the Giants needing a QB1 and the Raiders reportedly being open to a new one, they’ll certainly have a stranglehold on the proceedings.The whackadoo picks after #20Every year once we get past the first half of the first round or so, things tend to get predictably unpredictable. Last year saw two running backs unexpectedly come off late in the first with a back-to-back center position run as the Baltimore Ravens traded up to close things out by taking Lamar Jackson.What will the the surprise moves be this year? I mentioned the possibility of a quarterback or two mixing things up late in the first. What about this cornerback class? Kadar’s mock had three first-round cornerbacks all coming at 20 and later. Which edge rusher will see their draft stock plummet? Throughout mock draft season, we’ve seen about 12 first-round candidates at the edge. And who the hell knows how NFL teams will sort through these offensive line prospects.It’s the NFL Draft. Expect the unexpected.The Washington DraftersWashington is the worst-run franchise in the NFL. Not sure what they’re cooking up, but it’s going to look, smell and taste awful.#HTTR