Super Bowl 56 between the championship-or-bust Los Angeles Rams and once-labeled-underdog Cincinnati Bengals will feature the youngest head coaching duel in Super Bowl history. Both coaches are under age 40, with Zac Taylor at 38 years old and Sean McVay at 36. It's also the league's first playoff matchup with two head coaches under 40 since 1952.
Although the NFL's efforts at improving diversity in the coaching ranks have fallen significantly short, teams are turning to a new and younger generation of leaders. Entering Super Bowl weekend, the league has 11 head coaches under the age of 43, and with that relative youth, they're better connecting with the modern-day players and game.
"It's the twist that they put on the game -- it's the creativity. This is no knock on older coaches. I think you can get set in your ways," former NFL player and current television host Akbar Gbaja-Biamila told The DA Show on Friday. "It's very easy to be set in your ways. 'This is how we played, this is what we do.' Even when I'm coaching young players, I can still relate to how they see the game, how they process the game. You're just a little bit more connected to the vibration of the team.
"It's something that puts you a little closer to them. Then players turn around and want to work for you, want to play for you. They want to be able to show you that you're one of us. It's this weird embrace. Players are more receptive to changes and coaches are receptive to making changes for players. Some of the disconnect with some of coaches I've had was just, 'This is how it's done, how we did it. Never mind how you're built, what your talent is. You're going to adjust to me. I'm not going to make the adjustment to you.'"
Los Angeles and Cincinnati are scheduled to kickoff at 6:30 ET on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Rams currently have a 68-percent chance to celebrate their first championship since 1999.
The entire conversation between Gbaja-Biamila and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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