Rams’ Sean McVay praises ex-assistant Zac Taylor ahead of Super Bowl meeting: ‘I know what a great coach he is’
Sean McVay and the Rams are going to the Super Bowl after their 20-17 win over the 49ers in the NFC championship game. Now, they will prepare to face the Bengals, who are led by a familiar foe.
That would be Zac Taylor. The third-year Bengals coach is one of McVay’s former assistants. He spent 2017 with the Rams as their wide receivers coach and 2018 as the team’s quarterbacks coach before being hired to turn Cincinnati around.
IYER: The 7 worst narratives for Super Bowl 56
McVay was asked about his impending meeting with Taylor following the Rams’ NFC championship game victory. He had nothing but praise for his former assistant.
“I know what a great coach he is,” McVay said of Taylor. “[The Bengals] have done a great job this year.”
McVay had previously referenced Taylor’s “confidence and swagger” in his Friday media availability. He thought that was on display during the Bengals’ 18-point comeback victory over the Chiefs, which McVay kept a keen eye on before the Rams’ game kicked off.
“You look at the start of that game — I think they’re a great resilient team. It didn’t look good for them,” McVay said. “And they’ve just continued to show why they’re mentally tough outfit. I think that’s reflected by their head coach.”
MORE: Aaron Donald’s sideline pep talk motivates Rams in comeback win
McVay and Taylor have met once before. That came in 2019 when the Rams beat Taylor’s Bengals 24-10 to drop Cincinnati to 0-8.
Now, Taylor will get a chance for revenge while McVay will go head-to-head with that branch of his coaching tree for just the second time.
“I’m looking forward to diving into the tape and figuring out how we can put together a good game plan to try to see if we can finish this thing off,” McVay said.
