Sean McVay is taking himself off the sideline this weekend in order to give another member of his staff the opportunity to lead the Rams.
Aubrey Pleasant, the Rams' passing game coordinator/assistant head coach, will serve as the team's head coach in Saturday's preseason game versus the Chargers, McVay announced Thursday.
"He's ready to go," McVay said of Pleasant, via Stu Jackson of the team website. "He's earned this right and it's more of just going through some of the mechanics -- meeting with the officials, handling some of the different things as it relates to timeouts, being able to communicate with both sides."
Pleasant, who is in his second stint with the Rams, entered the NFL coaching ranks in 2013 as an offensive staff/head coach intern for the Cleveland Browns. He then spent 2013-2016 with Washington before joining L.A. as a cornerbacks coach for four seasons. Since then, he's worked in the NFC North with the Lions and Packers before returning to the Rams last year.
McVay, who will be taking in the contest from the coach's booth, heaped praise on Pleasant, explaining he had earned this right through his influence and positive effect on the team.
The opportunity should be beneficial for both head coach and his assistant, as McVay will get a different view of the gameday operation and Pleasant can get more reps in what is perhaps his ultimate goal, taking over a team of his own someday in the future.
"That certainly isn't exclusive to whatever the result is," McVay said. "It's more of the management and the way that you just handle everything from the players to the coaches, and it'll be cool to see."