- Jonathan Coachman
Infobox Wrestler
name=Jonathan Coachman
names=Jonathan Coachman
(The) Coach
height=6 ft. 3 in. (191 cm)cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0167535/bio|title=Jonathan Coachman - Biography|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=2007-09-07]
weight=235 lb. (107 kg)cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/jonathan-coachman/person/65482/biography.html|title=TV.com - Jonathan Coachman Biography|accessdate=2007-09-07]
birth_date=birth date and age|1972|8|12
birth_place=Kansas City, Missouri cite web|url= http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/coachman.html|title=Johnathan Coachman Biography|work=Accelerator.com| accessdate=2007-10-10]
resides=
billed=Wichita, Kansas cite web|url= http://web.archive.org/web/20070227100508/www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/jonathancoachman/profile/|title=Archived bio|author=WWE|accessdate=2007-04-29]
trainer=
debut=December 23 1999
retired=August 2008|Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1972) also known as "The Coach" is a former American
professional wrestling personality, formercollege basketball player , footballplay-by-play announcer andcolor commentator . He is best known for his work as an on-air personality withWorld Wrestling Entertainment , where he spent nine years as a commentator and interviewer for several of their programs, including "Raw", "SmackDown!", and "Heat". He is currently an anchor onESPNEWS and he also introduces updates onMike and Mike in the Morning onESPN2 .Career
Early life
Before embarking on an announcing career in pro wrestling, Coachman was a highly touted
basketball prospect. After two statebasketball championships at McPherson High School inMcPherson, Kansas , Coachman moved across town to continue playing forMcPherson College . During his four years at McPherson, Coachman became the school's career scoring, rebounding, and assists leader. He was also named McPherson's Athlete of the Year twice and was named conference Player of the Year twice.While at McPherson, Coachman's interests included participating in
theatre , serving as thesport s editor for the school newspaper, and doingplay-by-play andcolor commentary for the local football and basketballradio broadcasts.Jonathan 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 airplanes.
Coachman also worked for local Kansas City news station
KMBC , where he was a correspondent for "Larry King Live "'s coverage ofOwen Hart 's death in May 1999.Coachman's adopted father is a retired
United Methodist minister.World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1999-2008)
Coachman began his WWE career as an interviewer, commentator, and presenter. His first appearance was on the
December 23 ,1999 edition of Smackdown!, where he interviewed The Rock. From 2000 to 2003 he would become regarded as one of the top backstage interviewers and was even featured in wrap up segments at pay-per-views, where he would conduct exclusive interviews with wrestlers shortly after their matches. Coachman would also be involved in occasional segments with The Rock, in which The Rock attempts 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 or wild animals. However, The Rock's ridicule worked in favor for both men, as their backstage confrontations and interviews became highly anticipated. In 2001, Coachman was the sideline reporter for theXFL professional football league. He worked on the second-team broadcasts withMatt Vasgersian ,Jim Ross ,Jerry Lawler , andDick Butkus .Raw
The Coach made a heel turn against
Shane McMahon onAugust 24 ,2003 at SummerSlam. [cite news | author = PWI Staff | title = Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts | work = "Wrestling’s historical cards" | publisher = Kappa Publishing | year = 2007 | pages = 1113-114 ] After this he would have an on-screen role as the "lackey" to then General Manager of Raw,Eric Bischoff . [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=RAW - August 25, 2003 Results |url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/030825.html |work= |publisher=Online World of Wrestling |date= |accessdate=2007-07-08 ]Coachman would continue to work as a heel and later teamed up with his fellow "WWE Heat" announcer
Al Snow tokayfabe feud against the Raw announce team,Jerry Lawler andJim Ross . This feud would even see the pair win the right to announce the main show from the Ross and Lawler at one point.cite news | author = Martin, Finn | title = Power Slam Magazine, issue 112 | work = "Boldberg grabs gold" (Unforgiven 2003) | publisher = SW Publishing. | date = 2003-10-22 | pages = 22-23 ] Later, Coachman would achieve a singles victory on pay-per-view at Backlash 2004, defeating Tajiri (albeit with the assistance of Garrison Cade). [cite news | author = PWI Staff | title = Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts | work = "Wrestling’s historical cards" | publisher = Kappa Publishing | year = 2007 | pages = 115 ]Coachman would go on to host the 2004 and 2005 Raw Diva Searches which were won by
Christy Hemme andAshley Massaro , respectively. Later, Coach would gain his own column in the now defunct "Raw Magazine" ("Coach's Corner") and his own webcast on "WWE.com" ("CoachCast"). Throughout his success in the company, Coachman's character would remain mainly disliked by superstars and fans alike.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, Coach was involved in an angle involving the McMahon Family publicly firing
Jim Ross due to the actions of Ross' friend, Steve Austin. The firing of Ross gave Coach the position of lead announcer on "Raw". [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=RAW - October 17, 2005 Results |url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/051017.html |work= |publisher=Online World of Wrestling |date= |accessdate=2007-07-08 ] The storyline would culminate in a match at Taboo Tuesday where Austin would face Coach in a match with both Austin's and Jim Ross' 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 is 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 3, 2005 edition of "Raw", Batista came out and accepted the match only to be attacked by Coach's backup, the returning Goldust and Vader. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=RAW - October 31, 2005 Results |url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/051031.html |work= |publisher=Online World of Wrestling |date= |accessdate=2007-07-08 ] At Taboo Tuesday, Batista faced off against Coach in a Street Fight. Vader and Goldust tried to interfere in the match, but Batista ended up getting the win. [cite news | author = PWI Staff | title = Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts | work = "Wrestling’s historical cards" | publisher = Kappa Publishing | year = 2007 | pages = 116 ] However, no mention of the Jim Ross stipulation was ever mentioned after the match.WWE officials soon became dissatisfied with Coach's performance as Raw's lead announcer, either because of his perceived lack of skill at doing wrestling play-by-play or because play-by-play announcers in wrestling have historically had babyface sympathies. Fact|date=April 2008 Former ECW announcer
Joey Styles replaced Coach in a move that became permanent despite Coach's on-air protestations that Styles' presence was temporary. 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 babyfacecolor commentator . Coachman did often seem to have the opposite view of the other two announcers.On the January 23, 2006 edition of "Raw" Coach defeated Lawler to win the last Raw spot in the Royal Rumble Match via interference from the debuting
Spirit Squad . [cite news | author = PWI Staff | title = Pro Wrestling Illustrated, May 2006 | work = Arena Reports | publisher = Kappa Publishing | year = 2006 | month= May | | page = 130 ] Coachman would enter 7th during the match only to be eliminated by The Big Show. [cite news | author = PWI Staff | title = Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts | work = "Wrestling’s historical cards" | publisher = Kappa Publishing | year = 2007 | pages = 119 ]During the April 24, 2006 edition of "Raw", after Coachman hosted a Divas bikini contest, Viscera would come down to the ring and perform the "Viscagra" on Coachman. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=RAW - April 24, 2006 Results |url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/060424.html |work= |publisher=Online World of Wrestling |date= |accessdate=2007-07-08 ] Coachman disappeared after this, not appearing on WWE television for several weeks. WWE converted this into an angle. WWE.com reported that nobody, not even friends or family, knew of Coachman's whereabouts. On the May 5, 2006 edition of "HEAT", broadcast partner
Todd Grisham claimed that Coachman had quit, saying, "We've got announcers quitting left and right. It was Coach two weeks ago, Joey Styles this past week."On the May 29, 2006 edition of "Raw", it was revealed that Mr. McMahon had hired Jonathan Coachman under the new position of McMahon's Executive Assistant; to aid McMahon in the daily runnings on the "Raw" brand, and actually acted as the General Manager when the McMahons are absent. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=RAW - May 29, 2006 Results |url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/060529.html |work= |publisher=Online World of Wrestling |date= |accessdate=2007-07-08 ] While Executive Assistant, Coachman, along with the McMahons, would feud with the reformed
D-Generation X , and also have issues withJohn Cena .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. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=RAW - June 18, 2007 Results |url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/070618.html |work= |publisher=Online World of Wrestling |date= |accessdate=2007-07-08 ]
On the August 6, 2007 edition of Raw, William Regal became the new General Manager on the Raw brand after winning an over the top rope battle royal 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 vicious 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. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/archive/09032007/|title=Bulldozer-Slayer|accessdate=2008-07-15|last=Adkins|first=Greg|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment] On the October 1 edition of "Raw", Regal returned as General Manager which resulted in Coachman being once again demoted to his prior rank. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/archive/10012007/|title=No Mercy for Phoenix|accessdate=2008-07-15|last=Adkins|first=Greg|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment]In addition to his WWE assignments, Coachman calls various sports events on College Sports Television, a cable and satellite network owned by
CBS .He also calls college basketball for CN8. He will also be a reporter and presenter for theMSG Network 's sports and entertainment show "MSG, NY ". [ [http://www.msg.com/television/jonathan-coachman.html Jonathan Coachman MSG Bio] ]On the December 3, 2007 edition of Raw, Coach was in a No DQ Handicap match with Carlito against Hornswoggle, who he had been having problems with. However Hornswoggle had paid the APA to protect him during the match. Coachman ended up being pinned by Hornswoggle after a Clothesline From Hell and a Tadpole Splash. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/archive/12032007/|title=Leprechaun-job|accessdate=2008-03-24|last=Adkins|first=Greg|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment]
Friday Night SmackDown!
Coachman became
Michael Cole 's new SmackDown! broadcast partner onJanuary 4 ,2008 . [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/archive/01042008//|title=Friends and foes|last=DiFino|first=Lennie|date=2008-01-04|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment |accessdate=2008-01-04] He was replaced byMick Foley at Backlash onApril 27 , 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/backlash/exclusives/foleybacklash
title=Foley joins Smackdown! broadcast team|accessdate=2008-04-27|date=2008-04-27]Departure
In 2008, Coachman left World Wrestling Entertainment to begin a career with ESPN. Jonathan Will Be Missed Dearley http://www.jrsbarbq.com/blog/shooting-breeze-with-oklahomas-resident-baron-bar-b-q-with-random-thoughts-here-and-there Jim Ross blog confirming Coachman's departure for ESPN] ]
Other Media
"Coach" is also the part-time play-by-play announcer for the
WNBA 'sNew York Liberty on theMSG Network , as well as the studio host forNew York Knicks games. He currently hosts the weekly MSG program MSG, NY. On August 8, 2008, Coachman debuted as an anchor onESPNEWS . On August 10, he started giving the SportsCenter Update during ESPN2's broadcast of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning.In wrestling
*Wrestlers managed:*Garrison Cade [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20041124041331/www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/garrison_cade/profile.jsp Archived Garrison Cade profile] ] :*
Al Snow [ [http://www.patrickriley.com/raw2004.html 2004 RAW results] ]*Theme songs:*"What You Gonna Do" by Victor Reid (September 2003 - April 2006) :*"Hard Hittin"' by Homebwoi ("
WWE Wreckless Intent ") (June 2006 - April 2008)Other Media
On
November 5 ,2007 , he appeared on an episode of "Family Feud " withRic Flair , Batista,Mr. Kennedy , King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Layla,Candice Michelle , Maria,Michelle McCool . [cite web | url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/news/familyfeudpreview |first=Kara A. |last=Medalis |publisher=WWE |title=Tune in to WWE week on 'Family Feud' |accessdate=2007-11-04 |date=2007-10-30]Job titles
*Former Sports Anchor for KAKE Channel 10 news in Wichita.
*Former Sports Writer forKMBC-TV Channel 9 news in Kansas City.
*Former WWE backstage interviewer.
*Former "WWF Excess " show host.
*Former PPV color commentator.
*Former PPV play-by-play commentator.
*Former "Raw" play-by-play commentator.
*Former "Raw" color commentator.
*Former "WWE Heat " color commentator.
*CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) commentator for college football, basketball, softball, and wrestling matchups.
*Mr. McMahon's Executive Assistant.
*Interim GM of "Raw".
*Executive Assistant to General Manager William Regal.
*Former "SmackDown!" color commentator.
*Current "MSG, NY" andNew York Knicks studio host.
*Current Anchor on ESPNEWS.
*Part-timeNew York Liberty play-by-play announcer.Championships and accomplishments
RAW's Employee of the Month (1st ever)
References
External links
* [http://www.msg.com/msg/television/jonathan-coachman.html MSG Profile]
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