Prior to the start of the 2021 season, Sean McVay got himself a new quarterback when the Los Angeles Rams acquired Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions in exchange for Jared Goff and a trio of draft picks.
As we know, Stafford went on to lead the Rams to a Super Bowl win, while Goff and the Lions finished the 2021 season with a 3-13-1 record.
Following the trade, there was plenty of talk about how McVay handled the situation with Goff, who was caught completely off guard when the trade happened.
Sean McVay regrets not looking Jared Goff in the eye
In an interview with NFL reporter Mike Silver, Sean McVay admitted that he wishes he would have handled things differently with Jared Goff.
From LionsWire:
“That was a hard thing for me because the thing that’s more important than anything is being a good communicator. Clear, open, and honest. Making sure people aren’t caught off guard and really having respect for the players and the coaches for what they have to do. And I wish that there had been better in-person communication.”
“The one thing that hurt me is that I would never want anything to be misunderstood about my appreciation, my respect for Jared. Was it a tough decision? Yes. Were there some things that I could’ve handled better in terms of the clarity provided for him? No doubt.”
McVay then added what he would have done differently if he had a do-over.
“If I had it over again, what I would do is, before I had even gone to Cabo, when there was a possibility of, alright, if Matthew Stafford’s available, if there’s other quarterbacks available, that would be something that we would explore,” McVay explained. “You sit down with him, you look him in the eye, you tell him that, instead of calling him and setting up a meeting where that was my intention when I got back from Cabo.”
McVay regrets “not being able to look (Goff) in the eye” and how quickly the trade situation with Stafford accelerated.
“I regret it,” McVay added. “I will not make those same mistakes again.”
