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Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1973), also known as "The Coach", is an American sports analyst and former
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
personality.


Early life

Before embarking on an announcing career in
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
, Coachman was a
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player. After two state basketball championships at McPherson High School in
McPherson, Kansas McPherson ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,082. The city is named after Union (American Civil War), Union General ...
, Coachman moved across town to continue playing for McPherson College. While at McPherson, Coachman's interests included participating in theatre, serving as the sports editor for the
school newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...
, and doing play-by-play and color commentary for the local
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and basketball radio broadcasts. Coachman was also a sports reporter/anchor at
KAKE KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located i ...
in
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
, and also lived for a time in Newton Falls, Ohio, frequently attending Youngstown State Penguins basketball games. Coachman also starred in many instructional videos used for technical education classrooms of middle schools and high schools. One set of videos featured "Coach" instructing people on flight navigation and the basics of
airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
s. He also had a "boyfriend-in-a-box" modeled after him during college. Coachman also worked for local Kansas City news station KMBC-TV, where he was a correspondent for ''
Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...
s coverage of Owen Hart's death in May 1999.


Professional wrestling career


World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE


Backstage interviewer (1999–2003)

Coachman began his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) career as an interviewer, commentator, and presenter on '' SmackDown!'' on January 13, 2000. Coachman was also involved in occasional segments with The Rock, in which The Rock attempted to humiliate Coachman in any form possible, whether it was forcing him to sing, dance, or smile for the camera. The Rock also accused Coachman of performing rather lewd activities with farm animals. During winter of 2001, Coachman was pressed into service as a sideline reporter for regional telecasts of the WWF-owned XFL, initially serving on the same broadcast team as WWF commentators Jim Ross and
Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
.


Commentator and Assistant to Eric Bischoff (2003–2006)

The Coach made a heel turn against Shane McMahon on August 24, 2003, at SummerSlam. After this he would have an on-screen role as the "lackey" to then General Manager of Raw,
Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...
. The Coach continued to work as a heel and later teamed up with his fellow '' WWE Heat'' announcer Al Snow in a storyline feud against the ''Raw'' announce team,
Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
and Jim Ross. This feud would even see the pair win the right to announce the main show from Ross and Lawler at one point, as The Coach and Snow defeated Ross and Lawler at
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
. Later, The Coach achieved a singles victory on pay-per-view at Backlash, in 2004 by defeating Tajiri (albeit with the assistance of Garrison Cade). The Coach would go on to host the 2004 and 2005 Raw Diva Searches. Later, The Coach would gain his own column in the now defunct ''Raw Magazine'' ("Coach's Corner") and his own webcast on ''WWE.com'' ("CoachCast"). Coachman was officially added as the third member to the ''Raw'' broadcast team and signed a multi-year contract with WWE in 2005. During October 2005, The Coach was involved in an
angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle can refer to a number of concepts relating to the intersection of two straight Line (geometry), lines at a Point (geometry), point. Formally, an angle is a figure lying in a Euclidean plane, plane formed by two R ...
involving the McMahon Family publicly firing Jim Ross due to the actions of Ross's friend, Steve Austin. The firing of Ross gave The Coach the position of lead announcer on ''Raw''. The storyline would culminate in a match at Taboo Tuesday where Austin was scheduled to face The Coach in a match with both Austin's and Ross's jobs on the line. Though the match was originally scheduled to be Austin versus The Coach, Austin refused to participate because of issues he had with the storyline (the original story was said to have called for Austin to lose following a run-in by the returning Mark Henry). World Heavyweight Champion Batista was renamed the opponent to play up the ''SmackDown!'' vs. ''Raw'' storylines. On the October 31, 2005 edition of ''Raw'', Batista came out and accepted the match only to be attacked by The Coach's backup, the returning Goldust and Vader. At Taboo Tuesday, Batista faced off against The Coach in a fan-voted Street Fight. Vader and Goldust tried to interfere in the match, but Batista won. However, no mention of the Jim Ross stipulation was ever mentioned after the match. Former ECW announcer Joey Styles soon replaced The Coach in a move that became permanent despite The Coach's on-air protestations that Styles' presence was temporary. The Coach retained a prominent role on the Raw announcing team as the heel representative of a three-man booth with Styles, the play-by-play man, and Jerry "The King" Lawler, the babyface color commentator. On the January 23, 2006 edition of ''Raw'', The Coach defeated Lawler to win the last Raw spot in the Royal Rumble match via interference from the debuting Spirit Squad. The Coach would enter seventh during the match only to be eliminated almost immediately by Big Show.


Executive Assistant and Interim General Manager (2006–2007)

During the April 24 edition of ''Raw'', after Coachman hosted a Divas bikini contest,
Viscera In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...
came down to the ring and performed the ''Viscagra'' on Coachman. During the commercial break of that show, still in the ring, he quit in protest of his treatment on Raw. On the May 29 edition of ''Raw'', it was revealed that Mr. McMahon had hired Coachman under the new position of McMahon's Executive Assistant; to aid McMahon in the daily running of the ''Raw'' brand, and actually acted as the General Manager when the McMahons were absent. While Executive Assistant, Coachman, along with the McMahons, feuded with the reformed D-Generation X and also had issues with
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
. On June 18, 2007, Coachman was officially named Interim General Manager of ''Raw'' by the McMahon Family following the kayfabe death of Vince McMahon in a limo explosion. On the August 6, 2007 edition of Raw, William Regal became the new
General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
on the Raw
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
after winning a
battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...
featuring other participants from the Raw roster. As a result, Coachman was removed from his position as Interim General Manager and became Regal's new assistant. However, following a kayfabe assault by John Cena on Regal during the September 3 edition of ''Raw'', Regal had to be temporarily relieved of his duties as General Manager at which point Coachman was once again named interim General Manager of ''Raw'' until Regal was fit to resume his role. On the October 1 edition of ''Raw'', Regal returned as General Manager which resulted in Coachman being once again demoted to his prior rank. On the December 3, 2007 edition of ''Raw'', Coach was in a No DQ Handicap match with Carlito against Hornswoggle, with whom he had been having problems. However, Hornswoggle had paid the APA to protect him during the match. Coachman was pinned by Hornswoggle after a Clothesline from Hell and a Tadpole Splash. A rivalry ensued and one night Coachman chased Hornswoggle all over the backstage area, and it eventually moved to the arena, where Hornswoggle performed his "hide under the ring" trick to get away. Coachman moved to the other side of the ring and pulled out a detonator, much to the surprise of Jim Ross. He attempted to activate the detonator twice, but nothing happened. He then moved under the ring to check the explosives, and Hornswoggle came out from under the ring, and successfully detonated the explosives, causing smoke to appear from under the ring, and the cameras to make television screens change color, from gray to rainbow, and according to Ross, the building shook. Coachman was charred and unable to move.


SmackDown commentator and departure (2008)

On the January 4, 2008 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Coachman would replace John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), who rejoined ''Raw'' the previous week, on commentary alongside Michael Cole. Later that year in June, Coachman's contract expired after he decided not to renew it.


Return to WWE


Part-time appearances (2016–2018)

On March 25, 2016, Coachman made a special appearance during WWE's live event held at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. On the March 28 episode of ''Raw'', Coachman returned to WWE television for the first time in almost 8 years, cutting a promo with The New Day. Coachman would also announce that '' SportsCenter'' would be live leading up to WrestleMania 32 on April 3. On the January 22, 2018, episode of '' Raw 25 Years'', Coachman would appear in a backstage segment with ''Raw'' general manager
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
and other past WWE talent, Harvey Wippleman, The Brooklyn Brawler,
Theodore Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional wrestling Referee (professional wrestling), referee, Manager (professional wrestling), manager and Authority figure (professional wrestling), authority figur ...
, Brother Love and The Boogeyman.


Raw commentator and Pre-show host (2018–21)

On January 29, 2018, Coachman re-signed with WWE, joining the ''Raw'' commentary team alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves, replacing
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...
as color commentator. On September 10, Coachman would leave the ''Raw'' commentary team, being replaced by Renee Young, with Coachman becoming the new pre-show panel host for pay-per-views. Coachman also served as pregame host for the 2020 incarnation of the XFL. Coachman left WWE and the XFL in 2021, stating that he had expected to be reimbursed for his travel expenses but never was due to the XFL's bankruptcy.


Sports broadcasting career


ESPN (2008–2017)

In 2008, Coachman left WWE to begin a career with ESPN. Starting in mid-2015, Coachman began presenting highlights of WWE's best moments of the week on ESPN and having weekly sitdown interviews with WWE wrestlers on '' SportsCenter''. In October 2017, Coachman announced via his ''
Periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
'' that his contract at ESPN had expired, thus confirming his departure from the network.


NBC Sports Group (2018–2021)

As WWE has a television deal with NBCUniversal, in 2018, he was named play-by-play announcer for the NBC-owned World Long Drive Championship. Coachman is also a commentator for PGA Tour Live, which is an NBC Sports Gold subscription service providing additional coverage of golf tournaments.


CBS Sports

As of 2021, Coachman was employed by
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
.


PFL

Coachman is also an analyst for Mixed Martial Arts promotion Professional Fighters League.


Personal life

Coachman and his ex-wife Amy have two children. Amy is a former college athlete, and a personal trainer.


Other media

In addition to his WWE assignments, Coachman called various sports events on College Sports Television, a cable and satellite network owned by CBS, including football, basketball, baseball and softball. He also called college basketball for CN8. In addition, Coachman served as the part-time play-by-play announcer for the WNBA's New York Liberty on the MSG Network, as well as the studio host for
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
games. He also hosted the weekly MSG program ''MSG, NY''. In 2009, Coachman signed with ESPN as anchor of '' SportsCenter''. In 2012, he became the host of ''Coach & Company'', a nationally syndicated radio program that airs on
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
. Coachman also lends his voice talents to the video games '' Black College Football Xperience: The Doug Williams Edition'', Madden NFL 19, Madden NFL 20, Madden NFL 21 and Madden 24.


Awards and accomplishments

*'' Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards'' ** Worst Television Announcer (2003, 2005, 2018)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coachman, Jonathan 1973 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen American color commentators College baseball announcers in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers ESPN people Living people McPherson College alumni NBA broadcasters New York Knicks announcers People from McPherson, Kansas People from Newton Falls, Ohio People from Southington, Connecticut Professional wrestlers from Missouri American professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling managers and valets Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Television anchors from Kansas City, Missouri Women's National Basketball Association announcers XFL (2001) announcers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American boxing commentators American male professional wrestlers