Rams head coach Sean McVay has his very own ‘get back coach’ whose ONLY game day job is to stop him wandering onto the field and risking a penalty
While Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay led his club to Super Bowl LIII, strength coach Ted Rath had a less-heralded but somewhat similar task: mentoring McVay.
Rath, in addition to keeping the Rams in peak physical shape, also serves as McVay’s ‘get back coach,’ as he recently described to NFL Films.
On game days, he is in responsible of preventing the reigning Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year from walking too far into the field, which might result in a penalty, fine, or injury.
As the game plays on, Sean McVay and his "Get Back Coach" tango on the sideline.
Expect more of this at #SBLIII 😂@RamsNFL #NFLFilmsPresents: Get Back Coach airs this Tuesday at 6pm ET on @FS1! pic.twitter.com/5FMyWH4gzT— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 21, 2019
‘I literally have to spend most of my time while the offense is on the field standing right behind Sean, and ripping him out of the way when an official is about to run into him, just so we don’t get a penalty,’ said Rath.
Specifically, Rath makes sure that McVay does not run into one of the NFL’s line judges, who move up and down the field along the sideline.
He does this by crouching slightly behind McVay so as not to obstruct the view of the other coaches and players behind him before putting his hands on the 32-year-old head coach’s hips and pulling him back when the time comes.
Tomlin (in the black jacket) was not watching the field and was nearly run over by Ravens kick returner Jacoby Jones (No. 12 in black)
‘There is an art to it,’ Rath said. ‘It is kind of like a dance – maybe tango – like a side-step into the path of the official and then remove back.’
A former offensive coordinator, McVay is known to wander too far from the sideline and onto the field of play when the Rams have the football.
In 2013, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was watching the scoreboard instead of the field when he was nearly run over by Baltimore Ravens kick returner Jacoby Jones.
Tomlin was ultimately fined $100,000 for his mistake.
Rath helped lure free agent Ndamukong Suh to the Rams over the offseason, as the notoriously strong defensive tackle told reporters at the time. The two had worked together in Detroit and Miami.
Rath was not an NFL player, but did play linebacker at the University of Toledo from 2003 until 2006
