It was worth a shot. Rams coach Sean McVay married his longtime girlfriend Veronika Khomyn last weekend (his wedding cake was modeled after the Lombardi Trophy), tying the knot at a ceremony in Beverly Hills attended by countless NFL players and coaches. One of them was Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, whose season ended with a loss to the Rams in last year’s NFC Wild Card round.
Kingsbury hasn’t had much success against the Rams, beating them only once in seven tries (playoffs included). Tired of being foiled by his division rival, Kingsbury arrived at McVay’s wedding, not to celebrate the marriage of two likeminded souls, but to wreak havoc. Unfortunately for Kingsbury, his words weren’t enough to convince Aaron Donald to hang up his cleats.
“I did my best to try and convince Aaron Donald to retire. Obviously, that didn’t work,” said Kingsbury of the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who the Rams recently rewarded with a three-year, $95-million contract, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. “I told him he’s accomplished all he can accomplish and it’s a great idea to go out on your own terms.”
Donald did contemplate retirement, at least briefly, following his triumph in Super Bowl LVI, but decided he wasn’t quite ready to call it quits, particularly with the Rams expected to be just as good, if not better, than they were a season ago. Kingsbury also tried muddying the waters with reigning Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, to no avail.
“I was basically like, ‘I know you and Sean are friends, but stop taking that McVay discount. Hold out for the first three weeks and get something sorted out,’” Kingsbury told Fox 10 Phoenix. “That did not work out either.” Kupp, who finished 17 yards shy of Calvin Johnson’s single-season record last year, agreed to a three-year, $80-million extension earlier this week.
Kingsbury, who recently signed an extension of his own, should have his work cut out for him this year with DeAndre Hopkins suspended for the Cardinals’ first six games and disgruntled quarterback Kyler Murray reportedly prepared to play hardball in contract negotiations.
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