Sean McVay says one of the biggest mistakes young leaders make is trying to be liked and respected at the same time “Cooper Kupp changed my life. It’s uniquely special because my first year as a head coach coincided with his rookie year. I’m a better human, I’m a better coach, I’m a better person because of my relationship and the influence Cooper Kupp’s had on me.” “We’ve had to have some honest conversations. And here’s the reality: you have a responsibility to the collective. It doesn’t mean you’re right. I’ve been wrong before. I’ll be wrong again. It doesn’t change my love, my appreciation, my gratitude for everything that he’s meant.” “Sometimes decisions that you try to make for the collective don’t necessarily fit with people that are so special.” “You try to say it’s business, it’s personal, it all is intermixed. I don’t think you can separate it. Tough decisions have to be made.” “One of the things I’d like to think I’ve gotten better about, when I was a young coach, and I’m still a young coach, you’re so worried about being liked. Oftentimes when you have those difficult conversations, you try to be liked and respected at the same time, and then people are like, ‘What the heck did you really just say?’” “There’s no good way to deliver tough information other than with some empathy, but being direct and open and honest.”