Rams HC McVay surprised by hiring, says he's not intimidated by new position

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay admitted that he was surprised about being hired for his new position.

McVay, 30, became the youngest head coach in NFL history, previously serving as the Washington Redskins offensive coordinator.

The wunderkind spoke about his ascendancy and expects that he'll be able to coach a roster that holds one player older than him, defensive end William Hayes.

"It hasn't even hit me," McVay said to The MMQB's Peter King. "I mean, how could it? If I think about it, of course I'm surprised. Who wouldn't be, at this age? But I'm not intimidated, at all. When I was 24 I was coaching tight ends in Washington, and Chris Cooley was really good, and he was 29. What I found is this: If these players think you can help them win, they'll listen. These are men, this is a job, and if you know what you're doing, they're with you."

McVay believes he'll be able to turn the team's trajectory around, after the Rams finished 4-12 last year. The new head coach put particular importance on mentoring Jared Goff, who was selected first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

"I expect to be respectable next year," McVay said. "We gotta put our arms around this guy and coach him to be the best he can be. So much of our success is going to be predicated on how quickly we can get Jared going."