Why the Copycat Sean McVay Offenses Can Never Keep Up With the Original
Why the Copycat Sean McVay Offenses Can Never Keep Up With the Original
Stealing the Rams’ latest offensive trend will be harder than teams think, even though half the league spent the offseason preparing to try.Conor Orr|
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Los Angeles RamsSan Francisco 49ersA lot of people say they “use AI” but depending on what they actually mean, it could make a world of difference. For example: Dorothy Ann Totenberg, a fictional 80-year-old community librarian from Powder Creek, Kans., may have been trained to “use AI” to generate book recommendations for patrons seeking similar titles to the ones they’ve already enjoyed (even though, sidenote, I bet AI sucks at this).
FBI agent Darian Martinez, a fictional member of the bureau’s deeply secret special forces team, may also “use AI” to hunt down an international criminal posing as a street vendor in Bangladesh, pinning his location to within a dime’s length of where he is standing at an exact moment and triggering the dispatch of Seal Team 31 to silently wipe that person off the face of the earth.
One version of AI is far more powerful, capable and lethal than another, even though we refer to all of it under the painfully broad umbrella of artificial intelligence.
The same can be said for NFL offenses, specifically the “Kyle Shanahan offense” and the “Sean McVay offense.” A lot of teams are now able to say that they run a version of the Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan offense. In fact, about 50% of the NFL, not including McVay and Shanahan themselves, can claim to be part of that painfully broad umbrella. When, in actuality, folks like Shanahan and McVay are constantly changing the parameters of what their offense truly is; stretching it beyond its current form, molding it into something new, breaking it down and building it into some other animatron that is different and hopefully stronger and more relevant than the last version.
What some of the other teams are doing—again, not all—is essentially running the Microsoft Clippy version of the offense, which, until very recently, has still been shockingly effective. They are, in this very convoluted metaphor, Ms. Totenberg (she is single, having devoted her life to books).
My parting shot for this portion of the NFL offseason is this: I think part of the reason some defenses have gained such an edge over the past few years is that some versions of this offense became very predictable. This is because they were not evolved upon and tailored more to their team’s given personnel. So whatever McVay or Shanahan parlor trick the offense was working with—let’s say, for example, utilizing a heavier, more physical wide receiver as a blocker so a team could act like it was in 12-personnel when it was really in 11-personnel, conflicting a defense that is screwed either by putting a heavier personnel on the field or a lighter personnel to match—it became more like any other innovation that we now view as banal. It also became predictable, at least outside of the hands of those who made it magical in the first place. Defenses could draft better hybrid defenders to make each personnel grouping less vulnerable.
That brings me to the NFL draft and free agency, where the buzz word of the moment is 13-personnel (an offensive set with three tight ends). The Rams started as an almost exclusively 11-personnel team (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) under McVay and, over the years, the NFL became an exclusively 11-personnel league. Now that the Rams are finding an edge with tight end-heavy formations—L.A. ran the formation twice as often as the next closest team, the Steelers, and had a collective EPA of more than 77, which is three times as effective as the next-best 13-personnel team and about 15 times as effective as the average NFL team running the same formation.
So, what did a lot of teams do? They overdrafted tight ends and, while maybe not overpaying—Isaiah Likely landed about $6 million south of the high water mark set by George Kittle—did lift the positional tide for the foreseeable future with a couple of hefty contracts for some middle-tier players.
This, to try to simply install whatever the basic version of the package Sean McVay had success with the year prior and every defensive coordinator has spent the offseason brushing up on.
And while that is admirable, I will point out that the only Shanahan and McVay offenses that made it past the first round of the playoffs last year were either piloted by Shanahan, McVay or Klint Kubiak, whose father, Gary, deserves coheadline billing of the Shanahan offense as well. Most of the McVay and Shanahan–lite offenses were wiped out.
I would imagine that, barring a vast evolution in 13-personnel, what we will be seeing from a lot of NFL teams is a rushed transition toward heavier goal line-looking sets, with only about half of them actually capable of weaponizing it. And I would also predict with some degree of certainty that the Rams’ efficacy on 13-personnel dwindles, along with the collective efficacy of every NFL team. That’s not some crystal ball prophecy, that’s understanding that literally every defensive coordinator in the NFL took home a volume of Rams 13-personnel tape thicker than your library VHS copy of Titanic. (Three tapes! Three!)
This, on top of the growing mastery of the basic Shanahan and McVay book of spells (now able to be studied Year 1 at Hogwarts), would seem to foreshadow another year of defensive dominance, or at least another year where league-wide numbers are down from the highwater marks of the modern offensive revolution era, which took place in 2019 and ’20. While the NFL isn’t losing sleep over a league that is collectively gaining about 30 fewer yards per game than it was five years ago—despite having literally every mechanism in the rule book designed to aid offensive football—I’m hoping that NFL offenses are.
If your strategy is to simply copy off the smartest kids in class, you’re in for a rude awakening in 2026. Or, at the very least, you’ll feel a bit more like Dorothy, whose Microsoft Copilot search just accidentally recommended Fifty Shades of Grey to a fellow octogenarian from her church group based on a Copilot query for “love stories.”
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Published Jun 18, 2026 | Modified Jun 18, 2026
CONOR ORRConor Orr is a Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated with more than 15 years of experience covering the NFL. His work has been cited in Best American Sportswriting and has won a PFWAA award. Prior to Sports Illustrated, he covered both the Giants and Jets for The Star-Ledger. Conor lives in New Jersey with his amazing wife and three children.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
