The Football Book Behind Will Wade’s Defensive Gamble
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RALEIGH — Sometimes, inspiration comes from unique places. While NC State men's basketball faltered against the nation's top-ranked program, Duke, coach Will Wade tried everything he could to give his team a shot. As he returned home from a road trip to Notre Dame searching for answers, Wade found inspiration in a unique place: his bookshelf.
"There's an old book, 'The Genius of Desperation,' about football," Wade began. "We've been so bad defensively and I saw it on my shelf and I pulled it out when I was at home on Saturday night said, 'You know what, we need to try something different.' This probably wasn't a great team to try it against."
Desperate times call for desperate measures
Doug Farrar, the author of 'The Genius of Desperation,' doesn't claim to be any sort of college basketball expert. In fact, before Monday night's postgame press conference, he did not know much about Wade or the Wolfpack. Part of his separation from the basketball world stems from the place he calls home.
"I don't watch basketball, which is the funny thing," Farrar said. "I'm in Seattle, so basketball kind of doesn't exist up here. We're a bit bitter because of the SuperSonics thing. We do love the Storm, the WNBA team, but my reaction was shock."
Eventually, the video of Wade's reference to the book made its way to Farrar over social media. Throughout his years covering the NFL, some organizations revealed to him that they enjoyed the book and one team has copies in "every office," according to a friend of the writer. Between 2018, when the book was released, and 2026, the book found its way onto Wade's bookshelf.
"When a friend sent me the video, I was just astonished," Farrar said. "It blew me away and it also made me incredibly happy because the whole message of the book was that you have to adapt to circumstances that don't favor you and ... the fact that (Wade) was sort of invigorated by the book to try something different with his personnel and I'm like, that's perfect. That's exactly what I hoped the book would do."
When NC State’s men’s basketball coach Will Wade says in a presser that the football book you wrote inspired him to change his defense against a better opponent (Duke)… it’s particularly meaningful because it’s exactly the message I hoped The Genius of Desperation would forward. pic.twitter.com/SdL2ivOYrg
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 3, 2026
The book analyzes the schematic history of professional football, stretching all the way back to 1920. However, that analysis and in-depth discussion of the scheme wasn't the only message. There was a deeply human part of Farrar's writings that he hoped would help the book stretch beyond football. College basketball was an unexpected landing spot, nonetheless.
"The other arc was all these circumstances through the history of pro football where one team was just outmanned," Farrar explained. "There was no way that team A would beat team B because team B was just so much better, but team A outstrategized team B and somehow won. ... If you look at it beyond sports, it's a life lesson. There are times in your life where your circumstances are against you and you have to out-strategize the circumstances."
While the strategy didn't work for the Wolfpack on Monday, Wade's willingness to adapt so late in the season signifies a willingness to push his first team in Raleigh as far as it can possibly go. A successful run won't come without outthinking the opposition, especially given NC State's limitations when it comes to size.
When asked about his favorite example of a team overcoming similar circumstances, Farrar landed on the 2008 Miami Dolphins. As he explained his reasoning, the parallels with the Wolfpack became clearer. The Dolphins were 1-15 in 2007, while NC State completely crumbled during the 2024-25 season.
Tony Sparano took over the NFL franchise, while Will Wade took over the Wolfpack. Ultimately, the Dolphins installed a unique offensive scheme to outclass the reigning AFC East champs, the New England Patriots. The Wolfpack hasn't had the same success yet, but there is still time.
The Dolphins example felt similar to what NC State tried to do against Duke. Wade knew his defense wouldn't hold up against the Blue Devils as originally constructed, but he gambled on a major change to throw off the top team. It worked temporarily, but ultimately collapsed. However, the long-term impact of the change could help NC State throughout the rest of the season.
"When you do not have the personnel advantage, ... You have to find the 'OK, what's their weakness? What can we poke at?" the author said. "We know what their strengths are, but what advantages do we have with our personnel. I think the smartest coaches ... You're always looking for ways to succeed in ways you hadn't before and especially looking for ways to succeed in ways your opponents cannot predict."
Somehow, a football historian and writer made his way into the wild world of Will Wade, just by being in the right place at the right time. After a crash course on all things NC State, Farrar had a message for the leader of the Wolfpack.
"What he said about junking it up, keep it up, man," Farrar said. "Every game, look for those edges you keep trying to find."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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