The Los Angeles Rams went “all-in” in the past season. The math worked out with the Super Bowl win, but is the franchise now paying the piper for the party?

Munich/Los Angeles – Sean McVay had no chance to hide the night.

You could literally hear the celebration and the short night after the Super Bowl win against the Cincinnati Bengals. But with an extremely strained grating voice, the coach of the Los Angeles Rams also professionally let the last press conference around the big game wash over him – at 8.30 a.m. (!) in the morning.

“This is really torture,” laughed the now youngest coach ever to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. He is 36 years young, a priceless advantage when you have to pull all-nighters.

Even if it does start to hurt at that age.

Sean McVay: “I can take the piss myself “

Three questions had probably been announced to him, a mini-PK in other words, but in the end he stood on the podium for ten minutes to answer questions – and left the round in a good mood with one last side-swipe. “Three questions? I can take the piss out of myself.”

In the press conference, praise took centre stage, completely understandable after the longed-for triumph. “This is a selfless team. It’s probably the most unselfish group I’ve ever been with,” McVay said.

“They played for each other, trusted each other, went through thick and thin, and that made it very special,” said McVay, who highlighted mental toughness, resilience, humility and belief in each other. “We made a lot of the right decisions to bring in the right people. We’re winning with our players, coaches, the people in the organization. “

Or in short, everything was in the right place at the right time, the Rams had made sure of it themselves. “All-in” they had gone, the term from poker was used inflationarily in connection with the franchise before the Super Bowl.

But it also described the actual state of affairs best.

The big question after the short night: How bad will the hangover be? The Super Bowl blues? Will the Rams have to foot the bill for the party? Or to stay with poker: How bad will the hand be in the future?

Because when you are so aggressive in the NFL, throwing around draft picks and unpacking the money suitcase to get ready-made stars like Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey or Von Miller, the rude awakening is actually pre-programmed by the cap space and the draft rules. But the Rams are doomed to win, if owner Stan Kroenke has his way, because he knows that in the glittering world of Los Angeles you can only shine with success.

Quickly back in rebuild mode

Dominance like the New England Patriots led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady is the exception in the NFL, the system actually pushes teams like the Rams back into rebuild mode pretty quickly. How hard that turns out depends on various factors.

The Rams have a lot going for them.

Odell Beckham Jr, Von Miller, Darious Williams, Sony Michel, Austin Corbett, Donte Deacon, Joseph Noteboom, Matt Gay, Troy Reeder and Will Compton become free agents. Aaron Donald could retire, as could left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Safety Eric Weddle has already done so. “He’ll sleep on it and see, but I don’t believe in it,” general manager Snead said of Donald. “He’s a young kid. He’s going to get bored and need something to do.”

But add to that: rumours of a departure for lucky McVay picked up steam before the Super Bowl, and if he does indeed retire at 36 and accept the reportedly lavish offer to work as a TV pundit, it would be a bitter loss. After all, he has arguably been the biggest factor in the Rams’ success since he took over in 2017 and shaped an era with his style and successes.

But even if the successful coach stays, he and Snead will have to remain resourceful and flexible. According to “Spotrac”, the Rams are currently around ten million dollars over cap space, so they actually need to save money while extending contracts with top performers or signing new ones.

Los Angeles Rams: not a first-round pick again until 2024

Because the Rams have said goodbye to sustainable development via talent from the draft for years. 2022 will be the sixth straight year LA has not had a first-round pick available. 2022 will be their first turn in round three. In 2023, the Rams will not have a first-round pick either. The later the round, the better the eye has to be when selecting players.

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” general manager Kevin Demoff said of the Rams’ approach. “It’s not for the faint of heart. We have to prove this is going to be successful. We have to prove that this can work and that we can continue to do it.”

It’s not a foregone conclusion; even the 2021 season wasn’t, as that triumph included the necessary luck. But it is not impossible to continue the success, after all cornerstones like Stafford, Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp or Ramsey remain on board, theoretically also Donald. Another piece of good news: talent can be found outside the first round – Kupp was taken by the Rams in round three in 2017.

It will be a challenging offseason, and the Rams cannot rest on their laurels. Otherwise, a sporting hangover looms.

And that can indeed be a real pain. Even with 36.