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The Los Angeles Rams entered the 2026 season with sky-high expectations. After an aggressive offseason in which they added significant talent on defense, they were viewed as true-blue Super Bowl contenders, especially after reaching the NFC Championship Game last season.
Six weeks in, the Rams are 2-4 and coming off a tough loss to the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals. The slow start has put Sean McVay under increasing scrutiny, with more fans questioning his role in the Rams’ struggles.
One of the NFL’s most respected coaches, McVay became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl when he led the Rams to a championship with Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald. This season, however, the Rams have made too many costly mistakes, and McVay is taking his share of the blame.
Special teams have been a major issue, but it’s far from the only concern. The team’s trip to Australia ahead of Week 1 left players with just one day to adjust, while McVay’s decision to lean on the passing game after taking a 16-0 lead against the Denver Broncos backfired. Both decisions have given fans plenty to criticize.
After Sunday’s loss, one fan on X argued that the Rams should move on from McVay, pointing to his extensive coaching tree. The loss was made worse by the fact that it came against Mike LaFleur, McVay’s former offensive coordinator, who took over as the Cardinals’ head coach this offseason.
“Rams need to move on from McVay, not because he’s a bad coach, but his coaching tree is too big,” the fan argued. “There’s too many teams that can beat him because they know exactly what the Rams are going to do.”
Nick Kostos of “Westwood One Sports” saw it as a foregone conclusion, snidely writing, “Sean McVay is gonna be awesome calling NFL games next year.”
Kostos wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as Dustin Swedelson also joked, “Sean McVay is coaching this year like he wants to be Joe Buck’s partner on Monday Night Football.”
Some fans felt the problem had been there from the start of the 2026 season, with one arguing, “Sean McVay don’t got it this season, man, not so far at least.”
The drop-off has been striking. After ranking No. 1 in the league with a 90.2 PFN Offense Impact Score last year, the Rams have fallen to No. 14 this season with a 75.0 grade.
“Truly inexplicable performance by Sean McVay and the Rams offense today,” one fan noted, while others called for a major shakeup within the Rams’ coaching staff.
One fan claimed, “Sean McVay is washed. These play calls make Brian Fluery look great,” while another fan made the bold argument that “Sean McVay needs to give up the play-calling.”
There are few coaches in the NFL as accomplished as McVay, so it seems highly unlikely that the Rams would make a change at head coach. But if their struggles continue, changes elsewhere in the organization may be necessary.
Given the financial and draft capital invested in the 2026 season, missing the playoffs would be a major disappointment for the Rams. At 2-4, however, they are already in danger of falling short of that goal.