Rams HC Sean McVay: "I've crossed paths with Aaron Donald; he is considering a return"

It’s uncanny how in July in the NFL, the only real downtime in the sport on the calendar, head coaches,personnel execs and top players just happen to end up on the same beach or at the same resort or in the same restaurant. Business never truly stops, not for the franchises truly pushing for a Lombardi Trophy.

And the Rams absolutely are, coming off one of the more stunning offseasons in NFL history, culminating with the blockbuster trade for future Hall of Fame pass rusher Myles Garrett.

Their transaction page will quite likely be further punctuated by the return of retired future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald. So, when given the opportunity to catch up with Rams future Hall of Fame coach Sean McVay right before the start of training camp, I had to ask if he happened to cross paths with Donald during his break from the never-ending workdays at the team’s headquarters.

And wouldn’t you know …

"I have crossed paths with Aaron Donald," McVay told me. "And what’s special is we have a really special relationship and it’s way bigger than football.

"I’ve heard him say it before and I feel the same – it’s family with us. He’s done so much for me, and I love the man. He is the husband, the father, the son- he is representative of a lot of the things that are right.

"He is thinking about that (returning) and he’s going to go through his process. One thing about Aaron Donald - what he does, he does full speed ahead. He knows what it looks like and feels like, and he’s the rare guy who, hey, I retired two years ago and I retired after 10 years and when I was still at the pinnacle of my career, and he was full and he was complete. Then, he got that itch again.

"What he needs to be able to do is put himself through his regimen and his routine and see, ‘Okay do I have that fire? Am I going to be the player who can add value to the team and be the guy that I’ve been?’

"He’s going to do that and if he feels like he can, then let’s figure out a way to make that work and make him a part of it, and if not, then he doesn’t owe us anything."

Donald did indeed retire at the height of his powers after the Rams had already won a Super Bowl. They are considered favorites to do so again this season after coming so close to making it back to that game last season. It just so happens that the Super Bowl will be played in their home, SoFi Stadium, where Donald won that Lombardi.

Donald’s return has been something of an open secret since shortly after the team landed Garrett; those two relish the opportunity to close their careers together (Garrett has several years left but is closer to the end than the start). High ranking sources around the league, including multiple general managers, fully expect Donald to sign a new contract with the Rams at some point in the next few weeks – he doesn’t need to be ready for Week 1, and everything with the Rams is geared to being the last team standing.

Donald by no means let his body and fitness go after retirement the way many linemen do, and it’s quite unlikely he would reach the point of working out at the team facility while most were away on vacation if he wasn’t dedicating himself to a return. Money won’t be an obstacle.

"I want him to go through that process and be able to make his decision,and if he is feeling good, we are certainly excited over here about it," McVay said.

McVay is fired up for the season, and the opportunity to blend Garrett into his roster. He’d have preferred to have made that trade only for draft picks, but the Browns insisted on breakthrough pass rusher Jared Verse being a part of the compensation. You have to pay a steep price to get an annual favorite for Defensive MVP who just set the single-season sack record, but it didn’t come easy.

"The challenging thing for us, I have a lot of love for Jared Verse and we tried really to not have him involved in that," McVay explained. "But those types of deals, that starts with ownership and I have to give Mr. (Stan) Kroenke and Mr. (Jimmy) Haslam a ton of credit, because for you to do moves like that, it’s signed off by the guys who run the team.

"They give you the freedom and flexibility to make those kinds of decisions, and I think it was really cool how it stayed internal.

"There was a lot of respect on both sides, and I think both teams feel good about it even though it was challenging on our end because there was a player on our end that I have lot of love and appreciation for what he’s done over these two years.

"What I told him is, sometimes to get something great you have to give up something great. That’s what that trade was reflective of."

The chore for McVay now is to assemble this talent quickly, with the Rams opening the schedule early in Australia, against the rival 49ers no less, and there is no real let up after that.

That game is on a Thursday (though who knows what it will feel like to the players traveling that far) and then they host the Giants on a Monday, before taking on Denver (in altitude and another different time zone) on a Sunday night. Then, it'sPhiladelphia in what amounts to a 10 AM kickoff for the Rams, before a tough game againstBuffalo on a Monday night.

That’s all by Week 5, against mostly opponents that have Super Bowl ambitions.

"Fortunately, we have an opportunity going into year 10 of navigating a bunch of different things," McVay said, "and I’ve never had a schedule come out and say, ‘Man this is an easy schedule.’ This league is so humbling and it’s so challenging but is important to acknowledge - let’s spend our emotional energy on the things we can control.

"Hey, we’re going to Australia Week 1 – alright what’s the best way we can really have a training camp, and where do we start and when do we get there, how do we want to travel. how do we ultimately give our players a chance to peak at the right time? Monday night, Sunday night - whenever we’re playing, the team that plays the best is going to win that game.

"I was part of a team that was very fortunate that won a Super Bowl and then won five games the next year.Abig reasonfor that, one of the challenges, was I didn’t do a good enough job of being able to maintain that hunger and that desire to really pour into people and ultimately just stack days.

"There are so many moving parts and so much is out of our control, but do we have the discipline and competitive stamina to stay totally and completely present and pour into our guys and navigate the storms that are inevitable? Then you put the balls in play and go out and see what happens."

We strongly suspect McVay will be pouring his coaching soul into a team that includes both Donald and Garrett. If anyone can motivate a team through that unprecedented gauntlet to open a season, he can.