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link: https://theathletic.com/podcast/211-the-athletic-football-show/
The Playcallers Ep. 1: The kids are all right
Welcome to The Playcallers – a five-part podcast series that explores the innovation, competition and sometimes even self-destruction inside the N.F.L.’s youngest coaching family.
In Episode 1, host Jourdan Rodrigue details the origins of the Shanahan/McVay offensive system, which over time grew into the most popular in the sport. Unique circumstances push Kyle Shanahan to start to evolve this system as he joins up with other young coaches in Tampa Bay, Houston and Washington. A collision of forces, dysfunction and talent culminates in the offensive explosion (and then implosion) in Washington with rookie quarterback Robert Griffin the Third.
Voices in the episode include Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur, Raheem Morris and Robert Griffin the Third.
The Playcallers Ep. 2: When football breaks
Once candidates for the same head coaching jobs, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay’s dynamic gets complicated as they turn into NFC rivals in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Host Jourdan Rodrigue goes inside how both coaches’ modern offenses take shape and the untold stories of McVay’s hiring process by the Rams. Eventually, McVay’s Rams take the NFL by storm in 2017-18. But all the while, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history is lying in wait to teach McVay a humiliating lesson in Super Bowl LIII…just a couple of years after Shanahan’s own Super Bowl heartbreak at the hands of that same veteran coach.
Voices in the episode include McVay, Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, Andrew Whitworth, Mina Kimes and Steve Wyche.
The Playcallers Ep. 3: You are not me
How far can Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay go to evolve their own offenses? Each coach hires a defensive coordinator who is their perfect schematic opposite. In San Francisco, Shanahan and Robert Saleh’s epic practice battles shape what are now the NFL’s best defenses. In Los Angeles, McVay’s and Brandon Staley’s schemes clash as McVay becomes wholly obsessed with finding out how his offense can be solved. Host Jourdan Rodrigue studies the collision of apex systems and how the ripple effects start to shape each team – and the entire NFL.
Voices in the episode include McVay, Shanahan, Saleh, Staley, Thomas Brown, Andrew Whitworth, Mina Kimes, and Steve Wyche.
The Playcallers Ep. 4: Blood can blind
Sean McVay becomes the first coach from this coaching family to win the Super Bowl, but it costs him more personally than he could have realized. Before McVay gets to the championship, he has to exorcise his “Kyle Shanahan demons” in the NFC Championship game. Shanahan and Mike McDaniel built their offense into a versatile, punishing group as McVay’s own system centers around the flourish of the passing game. McDaniel, who becomes the Dolphins head coach in 2022, starts stretching his legs after so much time working under Shanahan. Meanwhile, Matt LaFleur’s own Packers offense is built around compromise and a Hall of Fame quarterback. In speaking with host Jourdan Rodrigue, each head coach opens up about how play-calling has shaped their identity.
Voices in the episode include McVay, Shanahan, LaFleur, McDaniel, Kevin O’Connell, Zac Taylor, Kevin Demoff, Les Snead, Raheem Morris, Andrew Whitworth, Mina Kimes and Steve Wyche.
The Playcallers Ep. 5: To resist it is useless
A look at the modern NFL shows that variants of this offensive system – and even the defensive systems it pulled into its innovation loop – are everywhere. What happens when it becomes too saturated? How do coaches know when to jump into what comes next? Host Jourdan Rodrigue also looks at the unintended consequences the explosion in popularity of coaches from this offense have had on the NFL’s hiring practices. Meanwhile, coaches across the league are candid about how they try to evolve and adapt in a sport that endlessly moves in patterns and cycles.
Voices in the episode include Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris, Kevin O’Connell, Thomas Brown, Kevin Demoff, Les Snead, Andrew Whitworth and Robert Griffin the Third.
