It was the 2nd lowest scoring superbowl of all time. Does that make it a bad game? A boring game? That will be debated on every radio show, podcast, ESPN broadcast, blog and among friends for years to come.
Coach McVay's response was enlightening. It was humble. It was modest.
“Congratulations to the Patriots. They did a great job. You know, coach Belichick did an outstanding job. There really is no other way to put it – I’m pretty numb right now. But definitely, I got outreached. I didn’t do enough for our football team.
And his team didn't buy it.
- “ ‘No’s – no, coach,’ ” Hekker said in the aftermath of the Rams’ 13-3 loss to the Patriots. “Just one of those deals where he’s trying to take accountability and we have a team full of guys who are accountable as well. And when we look ourselves in a mirror, we’re going to know we all left plays out there as well that could’ve contributed to the result.”
- “At the end of the day, as as a whole, we played great,” outside linebacker Dante Fowler said. “Like you said, you don’t see many 13-3 games in the Super Bowl. So that shows you how prepared we were.”
- “We didn’t do enough,” Suh said. “No question – it’s a cliché saying but I think it’s ultimately true: Defense wins championships.
- “He took accountability and said he’s going to wear it pretty hard,” said Hekker, whose 65-yard punt broke the Super Bowl record by 1 yard. “A lot of the guys were quick to let him know – it’s not on you; it’s on every single one of us. If we had all made little differences here or there, then things would’ve come out differently for us.”
What is the takeaway - as a leader, if you want to INSPIRE your team, if you want them to FOLLOW you, you need to LEAD BY EXAMPLE. You can't throw your team under the bus.
The RAMS team is a TEAM. It is not a group of individuals playing. And that is why they had a successful season. That is why they want to play for a 33 year old coach - the youngest coach ever to reach the Superbowl.
All leaders/executives/managers can learn 3 IMPORTANT lessons from McVay:
1. Age is meaningless - performance and results matter
Old or young - don't let your perception influence your results. Perception is 90% reality. If you believe you can do it, you will. If you believe it, others will too. Belichick made history as the oldest coach to win the Superbowl.Don't let ageism - either for being "old" or "young" ever stop you.
2. Being prepared leads to great results
It may have been the 2nd lowest scoring game of all time, but no one can say the teams weren't prepared. The defensive teams played great. No one is arguing that the players weren't at the top of their game. It may have been boring to watch - but that is because the game wasn't sloppy, mistakes weren't being made and everyone was performing at their best.
3. Taking Responsibility for Losses Inspires Your Team
That is why you get paid the big bucks - you are the boss. You need to take responsibility for the outcomes, including losses. This inspires your team to try harder and do better - for you. They know it is a team effort. They know they are partly responsible for losses too. But one one wants to be singled out and blamed. When a teammate is singled out and hung out to dry, everyone else thinks "wow - is that how I will be treated? Like crap?". No one wants to feel that way - so don't do it. Being a leader means publicly taking accountability and - conversely - sharing the accolades with the team. You have to take responsibility for the loss alone and share the win as a team. THAT is how you get people to follow you.
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