Elliott Harrison has a set of power rankings filtering the 32 head coaches in the NFL, and he has Los Angeles Rams HC Sean McVay in at #30:

30) Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams While everyone annoyingly points to McVay's age -- as if they were never 31 years old -- people should check themselves before becoming armchair ageists. McVay ran the Redskins' offense for the last three seasons, taking them from 13th to 17th to third in total offense. He was also integral to Kirk Cousins' development, tutoring him enough to make him a franchise-tag-worthy player two years running. You think mentoring a young quarterback might be a hair important with the Rams? Your serve, Jared.

In terms of the ranking itself, I don’t think it’s all that egregious. There are two first-time head coaches behind him, Los Angeles Chargers HC Anthony Lynn (#32) and Denver Broncos HC Vance Joseph (#31), and two in front of him, Buffalo Bills HC Sean McDermott (#29) and San Francisco 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan (#27). Given his relative inexperience, I don’t see this as much of a slight.

Perhaps more interesting is that Harrison finds it annoying to point out that McVay is the youngest head coach in the history of the NFL as if that’s an unremarkable fact. It’s ageist to suggest a 31-year old can’t be a successful head coach in the NFL. It’s not ageist to acknowledge he could face some very unique challenges because of the combination of his age and lack of experience. Consider that McVay has just nine years of coaching experience at any position at any level, including a year as tight ends coach with the Florida Tuskers in the now-disbanded UFL. Joseph, who comes in a slot behind McVay in these rankings, has twice as much coaching experience.

A couple of other observations:

- New York Jets HC Todd Bowles at #28. I think he might be getting overly maligned right now largely because of the roster he’s had to work with. Find me a head coach who could have made the 2015 Jets succeed. Better yet, find one that would have any shot this year. It doesn’t absolve him of responsibility. That’s part of the gig. But fault? Not in this case.

- I think Tennessee Titans HC Mike Mularkey could be a hell of a lot higher than #23 next year.

- Part of the problem is that most people can’t disassociate basic player performance from coaches. If a wide receiver puts up impressive stats, the wide receiver coach must be “good.” That’s just not the actual job. The intricacies of every job in coaching is to make their players better, to hone their skills to their job requirements on the field. I only bring that up because John Fox, ranked here at #12, can be a pretty divisive figure as a HC. Some see nine losing seasons in 15, a disastrous 2010 in charge of the Carolina Panthers that got him fired and, obviously, the last two seasons in Chicago which have been pretty ugly. But I’m not sure there’s a head coach who does his job independent of statistical output better than Fox.

- Arizona Cardinals HC Bruce Arians is in at #7 but is facing his toughest challenges ahead. Unlike Mularkey, I think Arians could be in for a fall from grace in the short term. If he can’t get things turned around by 2019? He could be out of a job.

- Seattle Seahawks HC Pete Carroll is #2. New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick is #1. I think there’s a good chance both come nowhere close to the conference championships this year. Will either take a tumble down these rankings if so?

It’s worth taking stock. Sean McVay has yet to oversee a single NFL game as head coach. He has yet to deal with a loss. Or a winning streak. He has yet to have a player suspended and be the responsible manager. He has yet to deal with sending a player to IR and tabbing down his coaching staff to shift the depth chart and then tap the front office to identify a player to bring onto the active roster. He has yet to deal with a losing season. To cutting one of his own.

How he handles all of those things will define the early segment of his head coaching career. If after three years McVay turns the Rams into a franchise that is in the mix every year for postseason availability, it will be looked at as a successful hire. How he gets there, and let’s hope he does, will be anyone’s guess.

But that he starts so low on this list should neither shock nor insult any Rams fan.