We could spend all day talking about the most unusual jobs in the world (like, it is literally someone's job to test water slides before they open to the public), but not many come close to that of Ted Rath, the Los Angeles Rams's Director of Strength Training and Performance. Sure, on days other than game days, he's busy getting the Rams primed and ready to dominate on the football field. But when Sunday rolls around, he has a very different main objective: He follows Rams head coach Sean McVay around on the sidelines and makes sure he doesn't run into any of the referees. Strange, yes, but necessary nonetheless.
“Coaches, whether it’s a position coach or even Sean McVay now, I literally have to spend most of my time when the offense is on the field standing right behind Sean and ripping him out of the way when the official’s about to run into him just so we don’t get a penalty,” Rath told NFL Films. “There is an art to it. It is kind of like a dance. Maybe tango? Like a side step into the path of the official and then remove back.”
According to the NFL rulebook, coaches must stay in a designated area on the sidelines during a game and are prohibited from moving laterally along the sidelines further than 18 yards from the middle of the bench area. Similarly, only head coaches can enter the field when a member of their team is injured -- no assistant coaches. This means that if a head coach enters the field during game play (or runs into a referee, obviously), they can get a penalty.
Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams will compete against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII on February 3, 2019.