THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Sean McVay has been young for every role he has ever filled. He was young when he was hired by Jon Gruden to serve as a coaching assistant immediately after college, young when he was promoted to tight ends coach for the Washington Redskins late in the 2010 season, young when he became an offensive coordinator by 2014, and especially young when the Los Angeles Rams made him their head coach on Jan. 12, still 12 days before his 31st birthday.

The age concerns have always followed him.

"I've always been around the players' age," McVay said Tuesday afternoon, while responding to harsh pessimism by former Rams head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

And he has always been able to alleviate those concerns with his players.

"There is a mutual respect that exists between coaches and players," McVay said, "and ultimately it's about us trying to help them reach their highest potential. But it starts with developing and building those relationships, like you hear us talk about all the time. I think when you do that, when you care about these guys and then you have some things that can help them have success on the field, that's where that respect ends up coming into play."

In the book "Blitzed: Why NFL Teams Gamble on Starting Rookie Quarterbacks," due out in September, Martz is quoted as saying that the Rams hired merely "a buddy" for franchise quarterback Jared Goff when they brought in McVay. "The NFL has nothing to do with being the friend or the buddy of the quarterback," Martz is quoted as saying. "You've got to coach them and work them hard with respect. But buddy? And this guy is a quarterback expert? An offensive expert? Wait a minute while I puke."

Martz claimed during a follow-up interview with ESPN LA 710 that the quotes are not entirely accurate, but the book's author, Thomas George, stood by them in a prepared statement. McVay said he has "a huge amount of respect" for Martz. He gave him the benefit of the doubt, saying, "I certainly have an understanding and an awareness of how things can kind of get changed around." And then he sympathized with the concerns others may have about his inexperience.

"The bottom line is this: I've never been a head coach before," McVay said. "I haven't won a game; I haven't done anything. So it's going to be a great challenge. And we're confident with the guys that we do have. I know that it's going to be a great learning curve, and I'm not going to pretend to have the answers to things that I don't know. But what I am going to do is continue to look at myself critically and try to be the best head coach and leader that I can be for this team and this organization."

Those who know McVay best will tell you one of his best attributes is that he recognizes his shortcomings, isn't afraid to ask questions and operates with the understanding that, at 31, he still has a lot to learn. But so many of those who initially bemoaned McVay's age were blown away when they first heard him talk football.

It happened to Chris Cooley in December 2010, when McVay suddenly became his tight ends coach.

"This 24-year-old kid came in and knew everything about the offense, and everything about everything," Cooley said. "I learned more about football than I had in my entire career in four weeks."

It happened to Rams center John Sullivan, when he signed with the Redskins three weeks into the 2016 season and joined an install meeting that was conducted by McVay, then in his third year as the offensive coordinator.

"He is so on the screws on every single detail, but he's not micromanaging," Sullivan said. "It's just pointing out things that you can be looking for, and really coaching in the classroom in terms of being detail-oriented. He was incredibly impressive."

And it happened to Goff when he sat down with McVay as part of the interview process in January.

"Right off the bat you can tell that his knowledge is extremely high; far higher than a lot of guys," Goff said. "They say he's young, and [his intelligence is] far higher than a lot of guys his age."

The Rams didn't hire McVay to be a friend to Goff. They took a chance on him because they believe he is a rising star in the industry. McVay has since heaped effusive praise on the likes of Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald and, more recently, Sammy Watkins. But his comments toward Goff have consistently been measured, leaning a little more toward critical than flattering. Rather than extend undeserving compliments to an unfinished product, McVay has stressed the need for daily improvement and consistency with Goff.

And rather than feel slighted by Martz on Tuesday, McVay expressed appreciation for the Los Angeles market being "very welcoming and accepting" of a young head coach.

"I feel very fortunate and blessed for that, and we know that it is a production-based business," McVay said. "We have a great challenge ahead of us."