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Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams appear to have avoided an apparent revenge effort from a rival club.
Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams appear to have avoided the overt retributionary tactics of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
McVay’s Rams are set to host Shanahan’s 49ers in the NFL’s first-ever game held in Australia this coming season, a contest San Francisco’s head coach has openly bemoaned for its travel requirements.
However, despite Shanahan’s open pleas, the NFL appears to have averted his revenge efforts.
GettySan Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will not get his wish of facing Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams in Mexico City.
With the NFL set to announce the 2026 regular-season schedule on May 14, bits and pieces of every team’s slate have circulated on social media. While McVay and the Rams have long known about the pertinent details about the Australia matchup, a different update loomed.
According to NFL Nerd (@NerdingonNFL on X) on May 12, the 49ers will host the Minnesota Vikings in Mexico City in Week 11. It will be a “Sunday Night Football” contest.
More importantly, it keeps the Rams out of the crosshairs.
“I know for a fact they did, and that’s what’s so bothersome,” Shanahan said on “Pro Football Talk” in March. “Hopefully, the league will do right and let us play the Rams in Mexico. Since we gotta go out of the country twice, and they requested us, I’m requesting them in Mexico. Not that that gives us an advantage. It’s just fair to make them go out of the country.”
2026 International Slate
Even Shanahan’s remark about having an “advantage” turned into a dig, as he noted the 49ers have taken over SoFi Arena whenever the two teams play one another, suggesting that was the reason for LA’s request.
“That would suck to have to do a silent cadence and have our home game at their stadium. So, I get their ambitions. But they were awarded that,” Shanahan said.
“I’m just hoping we can request–I’d love them to come to Mexico.”
GettySean McVay (L) and Kyle Shanahan (R) were colleagues and close friends, but their roles have turned them into feisty rivals.
McVay and Shanahan’s relationship dates back long before they were in the big chair for the Rams and 49ers, respectively. But to call their friendship “close” at this point would be “inaccurate,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch.
Branch expects the Australia game “should have some extra spice.”
“The regular head-to-heads haven’t changed their healthy respect for each other, but the competition has created a personal distance,” Branch wrote on May 6. “Niners defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who is tight with both coaches, termed them each other’s ‘enemy-friend’ in [Mike] Silver’s book.
“That backdrop illuminates the dynamics at play leading up to the coaches’ 20th career meeting on Sept. 10, when the Rams will host the 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, in Week 1.”
McVay and the Rams have defeated the 49ers three times in 10 meetings in LA.
They are 1-3 in their last four matchups there, while the Rams have won three straight contests in San Francisco. The Rams are still 5-4 on the road against the 49ers under McVay, who has spoken candidly about matchups against Shanahan meaning more.
Likewise, per Branch, Shanahan admitted that seeing McVay and the Rams win the Super Bowl in 2021 was “f****** hard” in Silver’s book.
Week 1 between the Rams and 49ers figures to be another explosive entry in the rivalry.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He's based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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