The Playcallers

Jul 15 2023 167
The Playcallers Podcast artwork

The Playcallers is a five episode series that gets inside the dynamics of the N.F.L.’s youngest coaching family: the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay tree. Hosted by The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, The Playcallers takes listeners inside the real story of how the N.F.L.’s most popular offensive system evolved through N.F.L. head coaches Shanahan, McVay, Matt LaFleur and Mike McDaniel, and its personal and professional impact on these coaches and many more in their breakneck pursuit of play-calling “perfection.”

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Ep. 1: The kids are all right

Jul 15 2023 65 mins  
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

Ep. 2: When football breaks

Jul 15 2023 50 mins  
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 whil

Ep. 3: You are not me

Jul 15 2023 50 mins  
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

Ep. 4: Blood can blind

Jul 15 2023 53 mins  
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 f

Ep. 5: To resist it is useless

Jul 14 2023 40 mins  
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

Trailer | The Playcallers

Jul 09 2023 2 mins  
Trailer for The Playcallers - the latest narrative podcast series from The Athletic. Host Jourdan Rodrigue, the five episode series takes listeners inside the real story of how the N.F.L.’s most popular offensive system evolved through N.F.L. head coaches Shanahan, McVay, Matt LaFleur and Mike McDaniel, and its personal and professional impact on these coaches and many more in th