Sean McVay overtakes top spot in NFL head coach rankings

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 10: Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams smiles prior to an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on January 10, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Following a run to the NFC Championship, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay has overtaken Andy Reid in the NFL head coach rankings. That's according to NBC Sports' Patrick Daugherty in his April 7 column, who added that McVay is destined to be remembered as one of the sport's timeless geniuses."

TheSean McVayera in Los Angeles might best be described as how to win games and influence people.' McVay just turned 40 years old. 16 percent of the league's 31 other head coaches have already worked for him. That does not include his former assistants who have already been hired and subsequently fired, though that list is short at two. The league is always looking for someone to follow. Perhaps counterintuitively, McVay has proven to be the perfect leader for both his team and the NFL at large because he is not so set in his ways.

One year it's three-receiver sets. The next, three tight ends. Sometimes he's bringing back old coaching friends (Kliff Kingsbury). Most others, he's scouring the country for new talent (Nate Scheelhaase). Although he has stolen the mantle of the league's greatest thinker fromBill Belichick, McVay is most comparable toNick Saban. Belichick was felled by his devotion to his friends and familiarities. Like Saban, McVay is much too restless for that. He doesn't just want to win. He wants to do so in ways either no one has ever tried before or everyone else has forgotten about."

McVay finally overtaking the three-time Super Bowl champion Reid is a big, BIG deal. The Rams coach has been among the top five coaches in the league for much of his tenure in Los Angeles. After a down year by the Chiefs and a deep playoff run from L.A. last season, it's no wonder that McVay capitalized by taking the top spot.

His impact on the game is unmatched, even if he doesn't take full credit for it.

Sean McVay was asked if it should be called the McVay or Shanahan coaching tree:

It should be the Shanahan tree"

: @UpAndAdamsShow | @heykayadamspic.twitter.com/IWTdSY2W4d

- Coach Yac (@Coach_Yac) April 3, 2026

It's a position he's also unlikely to give up anytime soon, despite tough competition from his other NFC West counterparts ... sorry Cardinals, you're not included!

Kyle Shanahan (No. 3) and defending Super Bowl champ Mike Macdonald (No. 4) joined Reid and the Broncos' Sean Payton to round out the top five. Truly wild to think that three of the NFL's best coaches reside in the division. So expect it to be a bloodbath per usual in a three-team race between the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers in 2026.

The Rams were fortunate that McVay panned out after they took a chance on the sport's youngest coach at the time in 2017. Since then, he's done nothing but reward the franchise with one of its most successful periods ever. Don't expect his success to end anytime soon with one of the best rosters at his disposal.