The Play Caller's Club

What does a day actually look like for Kenny Dillingham as the head football coach at Arizona State?We spent the day inside the ASU football program with Dillingham as he moves from meeting to meeting, works with his staff, prepares his team for practice and tries to intentionally make things difficult for the Sun Devils.On this particular day, that meant taking away the energy.No hype music. No manufactured juice. No relying on the environment to get ready to play.The idea was simple: can Arizona State create its own energy when everything around them is trying to take it away?Go to Work With gives you an inside look at the people, routines, conversations and culture behind some of the biggest programs in college football.Presented by TeamworksProduced by Sizzle Media

Iteration beats deliberation, constraints beat infinite options. Part 2 of the Bring Your Own Pencil mini-series.Bring Your Own Pencil: Bill Walsh's Playbook for Winning at Anything — Dan Casey & Griffin BrandPaperback: https://www.amazon.com/Bring-Your-Own-Pencil-Playbook/dp/B0GGC8JTL4Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GK4JHX5DAudiobook (3h 38m, narrated by the authors): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HDTYFLXKCHAPTERS00:00 — Welcome back: from the Path to the Process00:38 — The pottery class: why the quantity group made the best pots02:09 — Deliberate practice and the truth about 10,000 hours04:06 — You cross the river by stepping on the stones05:05 — Chapter 5: Netflix, a late fee, and questioning the assumption07:02 — Hold strong opinions loosely: the environment Bill Walsh built08:59 — Walsh's first draft: Steve Fuller, Dwight Clark, and Joe Montana12:04 — Idea meritocracy and the believability index14:46 — Shanahan's staff: competing to get your idea in front of the boss15:40 — The tightrope between conviction and humility17:11 — Negotiables, non-negotiables, and mastering the basics18:29 — The 80% rule: why letting go beats holding on21:01 — "That's how we've always done it" is a golden opportunity22:46 — SpaceX parks a 68-foot fake rocket in Washington, D.C.24:07 — Build it yourself: how small wins compound26:08 — Ask the people at the edge (and the man who made one bolt)27:35 — Chapter 6: Todd Graves, four menu items, and the power of constraints29:53 — The essence of art is limitation: bootstrapping and Hurricane Katrina32:44 — Greg Cook's injury and the accidental birth of the West Coast offense35:52 — Boilermaker to Alaskan fisherman: how Raising Cane's got funded36:48 — Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed, and why the NFL salary cap matters39:27 — Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham, and 50 unique words41:22 — Manufacturing constraints: bloated staffs and invented problems43:47 — Zero-based budgeting for your organization45:36 — Dan's mistake: the year he called offense AND defense46:51 — Always be recruiting: Steve Jobs, and Elon's first 3,000 hires49:52 — Chapter 7: Be the expert — or keep becoming one51:31 — Wardak Province, 2019: the Ranger medics under fire53:41 — A blood bank on the battlefield: more Ranger blood than his own57:00 — Rehearsal under pressure and Walsh's 30 offensive line techniques59:37 — Sweating the right small things01:00:33 — Warren Buffett, the salad oil scandal, and margin of safety01:04:44 — Focus on what leads to winning, not what looks good01:06:58 — Optics vs. effectiveness: lessons from two kinds of First Sergeant01:09:19 — Deck chairs on the Titanic and the 80/20 playbook01:10:48 — British Cycling, humility, and moving on from a mistake fast01:13:49 — If you're always learning, there are no wasted attempts01:14:41 — Coming up in Part 3: The People

Dan Casey and Griffin Brand open a miniseries on their book Bring Your Own Pencil, starting with the moment that named it: a rookie Ronnie Lott asking Hacksaw Reynolds to borrow a pencil, and the four-word answer that set the tone for a career. Part 1 covers Section One, "The Path," the internal work nobody sees. Permanent base camps over summit chasing, self-belief before evidence, the Valley of Death, and Bill Walsh's one great regret. Featuring James Dyson's 5,127 prototypes, Sarah Blakely, Phil Knight, Shackleton, the Stockdale Paradox, Teddy Roosevelt, and John Wooden.Get the BookPaperback — Bring Your Own Pencil: Bill Walsh's Playbook for Winning at AnythingAudiobook (Audible) — narrated by the authors — Bring Your Own Pencil on AudibleKindle — Kindle edition

Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck joins The Left Hash Call to talk through one of the most unique coaching journeys in college football.Coach Beck’s story runs from playing defensive back at Pittsburg State, to becoming a Division II national championship head coach, to working with Gary Patterson and Jerry Kill, to helping engineer major turnarounds at New Mexico State and Vanderbilt.In this episode, we get into the details behind Vanderbilt’s offensive identity: quarterback-driven run game, physical offensive line play, strong/quick offensive line structure, option elements, four-minute offense, recruiting toughness, and how the Commodores built the belief to beat Alabama.Coach Beck also shares stories from Pitt State, learning the split-back veer, visiting Bill Yeoman, flipping the roster at New Mexico State, recruiting Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers, and what it takes to adapt as a coach in today’s college football landscape.This is a great one for coaches, players, and anyone who loves the details behind building a real offensive identity.Topics Include:Tim Beck’s path from Pitt State to VanderbiltMoving from defensive coordinator to offensive coordinatorSplit-back veer roots and option football influenceNew Mexico State’s turnaround under Jerry KillRecruiting Diego Pavia, Eli Stowers, and tough football playersVanderbilt’s physical offensive identity in the SECBeating Alabama and controlling the game with tempo, clock, and toughnessStrong/quick offensive line philosophyFour-minute offense and closing gamesAdvice for young coaches in the modern eraSubscribe for more football conversations with coaches, players, and people shaping the game.Hosted by Seth Howard and Dan Casey

Minnesota Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Greg Harbaugh Jr. joins The Left Hash Call to break down his coaching journey, the evolution of the Golden Gophers offense, and what it takes to build a quarterback-friendly system in the Big Ten.Harbaugh dives into his path from Division III football to Western Michigan, working under P.J. Fleck, studying NFL offenses, developing Max Brosmer, building around Drake Lindsey, and designing a pro-style attack that blends under-center run game, play action, RPO elements, motions, shifts, and quarterback autonomy.This episode gets into the real details: how Minnesota structures offseason development, why “job-based offense” matters, how Big Ten defensive football keeps changing, what he learned from small-college recruiting, and why technique, fundamentals, and constant adjustment are still the separator.Topics include:Minnesota’s 2026 offseason focusBuilding around Drake LindseyThe evolution from RPOs to pro-style offenseStudying Sean McVay, Kevin O’Connell, Ben Johnson, Liam Coen, and the 49ersWhy Big Ten third-down defenses are so difficultThe value of Division III coaching rootsWestern Michigan, P.J. Fleck, and betting on yourselfUnder-center quarterback developmentSelf-scouting and letting the quarterback shape the call sheetAdvice for young coaches trying to break into the professionGuest: Greg Harbaugh Jr.Role: Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach, Minnesota Golden GophersHosts: Seth Howard and Dan Casey