Rams' Sean McVay opens up about family evacuation before Wild Card Monday

As the Los Angeles Rams prepare to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Arizona, it's safe to say football isn't the only thing on the team's mind.

Take, for example, head coach Sean McVay, who actually had to evacuate his home with his wife and son due to the fires around the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles County. How does it feel to go from leaving your earthy positions behind while avoiding a fire that has already caused so much destruction in the area you call home to coaching a football game? Well, during his final media session before Wild Card Monday, McVay explained the situation, noting that once his family was okay, he knew he would be just fine.

“Here's what it's like. As soon as I knew that my wife and little boy were good… you don't ever want that to happen, but if it did, those things can be replaced. Fortunately, they got those things under control, but as soon as I got off the practice field and because of where they were, I saw them right away. That was all I needed. It felt a lot more real… I don't want to say that because you don't want to minimize how important and how many people were affected, but when you can start to see it physically as the smoke rose up yesterday, there was a lot of guys that live in proximity and that hits home in a different way. As soon as I knew [Sean McVay's wife] Veronica and [Sean McVay's Son] Jordan were good, I was good as well.”

Asked how he was able to address the team as his players, too, are dealing with so much stress, strife, and uncertainty, McVay noted that the Rams have made it their priority to make sure everyone in the organization, from the players, to his coaches, and their families are taken care of the best of the team's ability, as they have spared no expense to make sure everyone is safe.

“I think the big thing is that it's ongoing [since] yesterday. Guys were taking care of priority number one. We were making sure that you help people. I think [Senior Director, Football Operations] Sophie Harlan deserves a ton of credit to be able to help people kind of redirect to different locations hotel-wise that were available based on the amount of people that are trying to get out of their house. That was priority number one. We were keeping abreast of that situation and then guys came in. Fortunately, everybody's in good shape, and I think everybody's in good spirits [with] all things considered.”

On one hand, it really does seem like the Rams have done their best to make sure that their players are in the best position to succeed moving forward, from accommodations to a new facility to practice in and even additional support for their families. How that will impact the game, however, remains to be seen, as this tragedy could galvanize the Rams just as much as it could halt their momentum, as the Chargers have proven so far in their Wildcard Weekend game against the Houston Texans.