“Nervous is an understatement.”
That’s how Sean McVay put it when asked if he was genuinely worried about the possibility of Aaron Donald retiring from the NFL this offseason. McVay kept a cool and calm demeanor publicly when there were questions about whether Donald would be back with the Rams, but behind the scenes, he was legitimately nervous he might lose one of the best defenders in NFL history.
McVay has a great relationship with Donald, so he was in touch with him often throughout this entire process leading up to Donald signing a new three-year deal on Monday. At one point, the two of them had a conversation on the phone about Donald’s future where McVay heard Donald out about his thoughts on the situation.
McVay recalled some of that phone call on the “I Am Athlete” podcast this week, saying that he told Donald he would respect him if he decided to walk away on his own terms. But he also let Donald know that there would be a way to figure things out if it was financially driven.
“When there was a possibility of it, he and I talked, and we have a great relationship. Something I really cherish. I mean, I love this guy and I’m so grateful for him,” McVay said. “He called me and this was a possibility and I said, ‘Listen, if there’s anybody after eight years that has earned the right to be able to step away on his own terms because of everything you’ve accomplished, you want to spend more time with your family, if you’re ready for whatever these next endeavors in your life are gonna be,’ he’s gonna be successful at whatever he does. I say, ‘Hey, I have nothing but appreciation and respect for you. And you’ve changed my life for the better as a result of me getting the chance to coach you.’
“However, if this is financially driven, shame on me, shame on you if we can’t get this thing figured out because we’ve got your agents, we’ve got our guys in the front office that are committed to trying to figure out a good collaboration where you get rewarded the way you deserve that also fits within our team, and then we’ve got a willing owner in Stan Kroenke that wants to try to be able to do that, and fortunately, we were able to get that done. And seeing him sign is something I’m really happy for.”
McVay couldn’t be more excited to have Donald back in the mix for 2022, knowing how important he is to this Rams team and their chances of repeating as Super Bowl champions. He wasn’t always confident that a deal would get done, but he’s thrilled that it did.