Los Angeles Rams’ head coach Sean McVay believes that artificial Intelligence (AI) technology could give his team a vital edge in the National Football League (NFL) this season.
Bookmakers rate the Rams as 20/1 shots to win the Super Bowl, and they could emerge as genuine contenders if McVay’s utilisation of AI works the oracle.
The Rams are conspicuous by their absence in the 2025 NFL season forecast by Spreadex Sports, with none of their players tipped to challenge for individual awards.
However, McVay’s willingness to leverage a multi-year strategic partnership between the NFL and Microsoft could give the Rams a useful advantage this season.
Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI enhance the way NFL coaches and players link data insights from the sidelines to on-field play.
While several rival coaches still prefer to utilise more traditional coaching methods, McVay has been at the forefront of shift towards technology driven techniques.
“This is a space that we’ve really leaned heavily into,” McVay said. “It’s coming and it’s going to be a valuable tool. You can’t run away from it.
“This is an opportunity for us to say – in a league that has such small margins of victory week in and week out because of the level of competition – what are some of the ways that we can create edges or win in the margins?”
The upgraded Sideline Viewing System (SVS) powered by Copilot will play an integral role in McVay’s bid to guide the Rams to victory in the NFL’s championship game.
More than 2,500 Surface Copilot+ computers will equip 32 teams, around 1,800 players and more than 1,000 team staff with real-time game data driven by AI.
The insights could prove to be crucial during the heat of battle in the NFL, giving teams who effectively use the technology an edge over those who fail to utilise it properly.
The system will significantly assist team data analysts, allowing them to provide coaches with more valuable information as each game progresses.
Analysts will be able to use Copilot to generate formulas, apply formatting and visualise trends, all of which will better inform the decisions McVay and his coaching staff make.
“We have people up in the booth who are responsible for charting a lot of the things that Copilot can sequence and segment in a much more accelerated manner, and so that’s going to allow us to be able to make better in-game decisions,” McVay added.
“And it’s going to increase the overall efficiency of what we’re trying to get to our players in real-time. It’s going to be a big deal for us.”
The latest innovations have the potential to be a game-changer in a league which is renowned for being determined by minuscule margins on the field of play.
Some teams have used other elements of Microsoft’s suite of AI tools to inform their recruitment processes and off-field business operations.
Marketing, promotional campaigns and fan engagement are among the ways AI is becoming increasingly influential in the NFL.
While each of those elements are important in their own way, McVay’s primary focus is on the benefits the technology provides to his coaching methods.
“When I look at when I started coaching back in 2008 to where it is now, it’s amazing to me,” McVay said. “The amount of information that’s at your fingertips is so valuable.
“When you look at the accelerated pace at which this is coming into our game and what a prominent part of our game it’s become, it’s important to embrace it. Because you’ll be behind if you don’t.”
