There are always “what if” moments in the NFL, and things could have been drastically different for the Los Angeles Rams if not for a snowstorm in 2017. In The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue’s recent podcast titled “The Playcallers”, Les Snead said the Rams were unable to conduct an interview with Kyle Shanahan due to a snowstorm, which led to the hiring of Sean McVay in 2017.
“Unfortunately, we could never interview Kyle. We had it scheduled, then it was a snowstorm in the New England area, so Providence. When we interviewed Matt (Patricia) and Josh (McDaniels), the snowstorm hit that part of the country, and we couldn’t get to Atlanta,” Snead said. “We couldn’t get there. We did ask Kyle, ‘Hey would you like to FaceTime?’ He didn’t really want to do that. So at that point in time we passed on the interview. That weather event and whatever occurred because of it, it definitely changed the course of the NFC West.”
At the time, Shanahan was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were preparing to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2017, making Shanahan a coveted head-coaching candidate.
The Rams were among the teams expressing interest in Shanahan until weather concerns prevented the team from meeting with him. McVay was another assistant the Rams were speaking to at the time and the San Francisco 49ers were also talking to him.
After considering their options, the Rams would hire McVay and Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers that same year. Besides both of them serving on the same coaching staff in Washington, McVay and Shanahan have forever been linked throughout their careers, battling it out for the last six years in the NFC West.
While the Rams are amid a transition period in 2023, the franchise has two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl victory since McVay was hired in 2017. Even though Shanahan has been a bright coach in the NFL, the Rams are more than content with how things panned out in 2017 — especially with a Super Bowl ring on their finger.
