The most competitive people tend to be high achievers. Separation will typically take place early on. In high school and throughout college, many accolades will be collected along the way.

It often becomes the case for the best of the best that they first encounter any form of failure once they hit the professional level. This can often serve as a massive shock to the system.

For people like coach Sean McVay, going through something like a losing season is literally almost too much to bear. The mental anguish of no longer having a great number in the wins column tears at the identity of someone like coach McVay.

Being that tied to being a success makes the opposite unacceptable, almost not real. Trying to navigate this type of foreign territory can often prove to be a bridge too far for someone of a high calibre.

As shared on X by Josh Chambers, coach McVay nearly took himself off the NFL sidelines when his Los Angeles Rams team went 5-12 during the 2022 season.

According to coach McVay, he did not like the person that he had become, a revelation that was more so to himself.

Going through a losing year in which there aren’t any postseason aspirations can become highly demoralising. He felt that there were times in which he was not giving it his all and that he was closer to simply going through the motions, certainly more than what he had in years past.

It is now known, of course, that he did not step away from the game. Heading into the 2026 season, there is clearly a lot to be excited about with the return of Aaron Donald.

Naturally, coach McVay, as anyone would, had moments of doubt when something completely abnormal occurred in his life.

Ultimate competitors, though, can’t help themselves. They always have at least ‘one more’ in them at any point. Chances are, even if coach McVay had decided to quit after that one losing season, fans would have seen him again not too long after a brief hiatus.