The Grind of Identifying Talent with Catherine Hickman

Eagles' Assistant GM Alec Halaby represents two ends of the football spectrum: a football junkie with an affinity for analytics. Halaby joins The Playcallers to talk about the marriage of those two mentalities, a peek inside the unique process of Howie Roseman and the Eagles, and the multitudes of inputs he seeks when making a football decision.

Browns' Assistant GM & VP of Football Operations Catherine Hickman joins The Playcallers to dive into her path from the law to the CFL to the NFL, the combination of forces in the talent identification process and how problems get solved at the highest level of professional sports.

Welcome to The Playcallers, the show about how football happens. As season two continues, you’ll hear from the ascending generation of front office decision-makers. In this episode, Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham joins host Jourdan Rodrigue to discuss the art of productive disagreements, how to study and implement new ideas and his in-depth process for analyzing the decisions he makes.

Carolina Panthers Defensive Passing Game Coordinator Jonathan Cooley joins host Jourdan Rodrigue to discuss why John Carroll University is a coaching hotbed, the keys to making complex football strategies simple for players, and how coverages will continue to evolve in the face of offensive innovation.

Houston Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson joins host Jourdan Rodrigue to discuss his family's legacy in teaching leading to coaching, transitioning from player to coach, and the coaching process that contributed to CJ Stroud's incredible rookie season.

Welcome to The Playcallers: The Bonus Batch, an extra set of three episodes focused on up-and-coming coaches in the NFL. In this first bonus episode, host Jourdan Rodrigue is joined by LA Rams OC Mike LaFleur to talk about growing up in a football family, the gift of being a WR coach, and how to build cohesion between scheme and the players.

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. Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers. Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

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. Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers. Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

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. Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers. Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

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. Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers. Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.