His success in Los Angeles is credited with spawning the "Sean McVay effect", in which NFL teams were more inclined to hire younger, offensive-minded head coaches.

McVay totaled 2,600 yards rushing and 40 rushing touchdowns during his career and also passed for 2,500 yards and 18 touchdowns, leading the War Eagles to a 26–3 record, including a 14–1 record and state championship his senior year, when he was also named the Georgia 4A Offensive Player of the Year over future NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

McVay's success with Cousins made him an attractive head coaching candidate and following the season was interviewed by both the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.

[21] On September 10, 2017, McVay made his regular-season head coaching debut against the Indianapolis Colts, and led the Rams to a 46–9 victory in a home game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[22] Following a Week 2 27–20 loss to McVay's former team, the Washington Redskins, the Rams pulled off a close 41–39 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football.

[23] During Week 4, the Rams turned a 16–24 deficit into a 35–30 upset road victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but they lost their next game to NFC West division rival Seattle Seahawks at home by a score of 16–10.

[citation needed] In Weeks 11 and 12, the Rams lost to the Minnesota Vikings on the road by a score of 24–7 but won at home against the New Orleans Saints 26–20 to raise their record to 8–3.

[26] McVay made his playoff head coaching debut against the Atlanta Falcons, but the Rams lost in the Wild Card Round by a score of 26–13.

[37] McVay then endured his first losing streak as a head coach as the Rams stumbled in back-to-back losses to the Chicago Bears (15–6) and the Philadelphia Eagles (30–23), both on NBC Sunday Night Football.

[38] The Rams bounced back to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 31–9 and San Francisco 49ers 48–32 in the final two weeks to finish the regular season with a 13–3 record, tied for the second-most wins in franchise history.

The team faced problems during the season due to a combination of factors and lost in heartbreaking fashion on the road by a score of 34–31 against the 49ers, which eliminated the Rams from the playoffs.

The Rams finished the season with a 10–6 record with wins over the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and New England Patriots.

[48] They then won their next two games against the Indianapolis Colts, and the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers before losing to the Arizona Cardinals.

[55] After a Week 11 bye, the Rams' losing streak continued when they lost to the Green Bay Packers on the road by a score of 36–28, falling to a 7–4 record.

[57][58] Despite a two-day delay due to COVID-19 precautions, the Rams beat the Seahawks 20–10 at SoFi Stadium to improve to 10–4, then scored impressive road wins over the Minnesota Vikings (30–23) and the Baltimore Ravens (20–19) to clinch an NFC playoff spot.

In the first NFL playoff game played on Monday Night Football, the Rams defeated their NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals, by a score of 34–11.

[61] The win put the Rams into the NFC Championship Game for the second time under McVay's leadership, giving him his fifth postseason victory, the most in team history.

Returning to SoFi Stadium for the NFC Championship Game, the Rams rallied from a 10-point deficit to defeat their other NFC West rival, the San Francisco 49ers, by a score of 20–17, with McVay winning his second conference title and advancing to Super Bowl LVI,[62] where the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23–20, rallying with a late touchdown to win.

[67] McVay and the Rams struggled to defend their title throughout the season, as the team lost key members Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald to injury for significant portions of the year.

[68] Mayfield finished the year with a 2–3 record with wins coming against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football and the Denver Broncos on Christmas.

[69] But with consecutive road losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams would finish 5–12 and miss the playoffs in McVay's first losing season as a head coach.

[70] With the Rams having traded significant draft capital and given notably high contracts to pursue their Super Bowl championship, many predicted that a team rebuild loomed during the offseason.

[76] Though Los Angeles dropped three of its next four games against San Francisco (30–23), Cincinnati (19–16), and Philadelphia (23–14), the Rams displayed unexpected resilience against a trio of teams widely expected to contend for the Super Bowl.

But Williams suffered a severe ankle sprain that sidelined him on injured reserve for a month, and that, combined with injuries to quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, hampered the Rams who dropped three straight games going into the bye week.

Los Angeles returned from the break and gutted out a 17–16 win over Seattle, then crushed Arizona (37–14) and Cleveland (36–19) before falling 37–31 to the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens on the road.

Shortly after Los Angeles had clinched a playoff berth, McVay publicly declared that he intended to return as the team's head coach for the 2024 season.

"[79] In 2024, Sean McVay entered his eighth season as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, reinvigorated after considering retirement during the previous offseason.

[80] The Rams' 10th victory of the season, combined with a strength of victory tiebreaker, clinched the NFC West division title for the fourth time in eight years under McVay, as well as advancing to the playoffs for the sixth time in McVay's eight seasons[81] Preparations to host the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card Game were disrupted by the outbreak of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.

Initially maintaining a normal practice schedule as a series of fires broke out in surrounding communities, the NFL decided (along with the concurrence of both franchises) to move the game to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

[90] McVay resides in Hidden Hills, California with his wife, Veronika Khomyn, a former model from Ukraine whom he met when he was a coach for Washington and she was a student at George Mason University.