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When the Los Angeles Rams drafted quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, head coach Sean McVay didn’t look thrilled, and he admitted as much on Friday.
McVay, while recapping the second day of the Rams’ draft, opened his press conference acknowledging his demeanor after Simpson’s selection.
“I get my demeanor last night, but we’re excited about it. There are different things. I always want to be mindful of how things come off and things like that. I’m very excited about last night and very excited about today. Couldn’t be more excited about us continuing to lead together, but every decision that we make is collective and collaborative,” McVay said.
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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay walks on the field at Lumen Field after the 2026 NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Washington, on Jan. 25, 2026. (Kevin Ng/Imagn Images)
“For any of the questions or misunderstandings just based on my demeanor or disposition last night, I did want to get that out of the way. This is my buddy right here,” McVay said with a smile as he reached out to general manager Les Snead.
“That was brought to my attention because I got so many texts. That was never my intended way to be able to come off, but sometimes I can be a little grumpy.”
A reporter followed up and asked the 40-year-old coach why he was grumpy.
“Well, there were other things that had nothing to do with that, which that’s normal life,” McVay said.
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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford reacts after throwing a touchdown pass during an NFL game against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., on Dec. 22, 2024. (Adam Hunger/AP)
“The main thing was, I couldn’t be more excited about being able to add him, but also understanding how much I love Matthew Stafford, how respectful you want to always be and to the way things can be interpreted. The demeanor would’ve been stoic by nature because you are excited, but by no means — it is Matthew’s football team.”
Stafford, in his 17th season, won his first MVP last year with the Rams. However, despite the success, Stafford has reportedly been mulling retirement after each season for the past couple of seasons.
The 38-year-old quarterback only announced he was returning for another season when he capped his MVP speech with the news. With Stafford’s future seemingly uncertain after next season, the Rams got a jump on their heir apparent.
McVay said he is excited for Simpson to learn from Stafford.
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Ty Simpson of Alabama celebrates after being selected as the 13th overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
“I’m excited to be able to add Ty. What a blessing it is for him to be able to learn from Matthew and to be able to come into this atmosphere and environment. Whenever that time comes for him to get an opportunity to be Matthew’s successor will be on Matthew’s terms. I think that’s really what the important thing was. I didn’t want that to ever be misunderstood while not minimizing the excitement for Ty and the buy-in,” McVay said.
“Les and his group really liked him. As soon as we started really studying him, there was a body of work, like I talked about, that was a good, fun evaluation. A lot of the concepts that we would activate. The guy is a football junkie and plays with the timing and rhythm. You can see that he’s a coach’s son. His journey is a fun one that he’s been through.”
If Simpson one day becomes the quarterback that Stafford is, McVay won’t be feeling grumpy often.
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