The trade that sent Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions to the Los Angeles Rams last year famously came together while the star quarterback and Sean McVay were in Mexico together. McVay decided during that trip that he and Stafford were a perfect fit, and he had an incredible way of conveying that to the decision-makers back home.
In a wide-ranging feature that ESPN’s Seth Wickersham published this week, McVay recalled the time he spent with Stafford in Cabo San Lucas leading up to the blockbuster trade last offseason. McVay was on vacation with his wife Veronika sulking over the Rams’ loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round when he learned two things — Stafford was vacationing at the same resort and wanted out of Detroit.
It was practically meant to be. McVay and Stafford met for cocktails and discussed football. Wickersham described it as a “bond forged over sun and booze.” After the two parted ways, McVay made a FaceTime call to members of the front office. He recalled the legendary pitch he made to them when he was “a few tequilas in.”
“Here’s the f—ing deal, OK? We can sit here and exist, and be OK winning nine to 11 games, and losing in the f—ing divisional round and feel like, ‘Oh, everything’s OK,'” McVay says he told his bosses. “Or, we could let our motherf—ing nuts hang, and go trade for this f—ing quarterback, and give ourselves a chance to go win a f—ing world championship. You ready to f—ing do this or what?”
McVay says he elicited some laughs, but the speech worked. The Rams sent Jared Goff and two future first-round picks to the Lions for Stafford, and the rest is history.
Other teams tried to trade for Stafford as well. There may have even been better offers, but the Lions wanted to send the veteran to the team of his choice as a show of appreciation for the years he spent in Detroit. That is why the time he spent with McVay in Cabo played such a huge role in reshaping the NFC landscape.
One other coach was vacationing in Mexico at the same time and badly wanted to acquire Stafford, but there was nothing he could do. Now that we know the hard sell McVay gave, it makes even more sense that Stafford landed where he did.
H/T Barstool Sports
