Coach is an American television sitcom that originally ran for nine seasons on ABC from February 28, 1989, to May 14, 1997, with a total of 200 half-hour episodes. The series, created by Barry Kemp, stars Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional NCAA Division I-A Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles football team. For the last two seasons, Coach Fox and the supporting characters coached the Orlando Breakers, a fictional National Football League expansion team. The program also starred Jerry Van Dyke as Luther Van Dam and Bill Fagerbakke as Michael "Dauber" Dybinski, assistant coaches under Fox. The role of Hayden's girlfriend (and later wife) Christine Armstrong, a television news anchor, was played by Shelley Fabares.
Plot In early seasons, Coach Hayden Fox continues to come to grips with the emerging womanhood of his "little girl", Kelly, now a college student played by Clare Carey, who after being raised mostly by her mother, enrolled at Minnesota State mainly because she wanted to be near her father. Kelly dated (and eventually married in the second season) theater mime Stuart Rosebrock (Kris Kamm), whom Hayden could not stand. Their marriage ended in 1991 after Stuart, returning from filming his own kids TV show, Buzzy the Beaver, told Kelly that he had met another woman. While overtly supporting Kelly with her heartbreak, Coach Fox clandestinely could not have been happier to have "Stu" out of both of their lives. After graduating from Minnesota State in 1993, Kelly was hired by a major ad agency in New York. She was only seen in occasional guest spots thereafter (and not at all after season 7).
Much of Hayden's coaching job, besides mentoring his players, was working with his defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Luther Van Dam (Jerry Van Dyke). Van Dam was a lifelong bachelor who often struggled with self-confidence, and is portrayed as Hayden's best friend. Additionally, they worked with special teams coach Michael "Dauber" Dybinski (Bill Fagerbakke). He is an ex-player at Minnesota State and a kind-hearted, naive "dumb jock" figure. Throughout the show, there is an ongoing joke that he had not yet graduated from Minnesota State, despite being enrolled there for several years. Despite his seemingly simple nature, Dauber would often surprisingly be of intellectual help to the team. This was usually learned from a class he was attending, or from being a fan of Nova. Dauber would later graduate with three bachelor's degrees in physical education, business administration, and forestry – without even knowing he was eligible for all three until he got his transcript.
Women's basketball coach Judy Watkins (Pam Stone) often engaged in prank wars with Hayden. His relationship with her was complicated by the fact that Dauber dated her until 1995, when she confessed to an affair after returning from a coaching job in Romania. Also seen throughout the run was fussy, budget-conscious Minnesota State athletic director Howard Burleigh (Kenneth Kimmins) and his cheerful wife, Shirley (Georgia Engel), who were close friends with Hayden and Christine.
At the end of season 7, Hayden is offered a job with a fictional NFL expansion team called the Orlando Breakers. Hayden agrees and takes his coaching staff with him for the final two seasons. The Foxes adopted a baby boy named Timothy (played by twins Brennan and Brian Felker). Many season 9 episodes focused on the couple's newfound joy of parenthood, as they had been unable to conceive a child together before they decided to adopt.
Episodes
"Viva Las Vegas"
The 9th-season episode "Viva Las Ratings" is part of a crossover with Grace Under Fire, The Drew Carey Show, and Ellen set in Las Vegas. It features Kathy Kinney as Mimi Bobeck, Drew Carey as Drew Carey, Joely Fisher as Paige Clark, and Jeremy Piven as Spence Kovak.
Development The creator and producer of the show, Barry Kemp, an alumnus of the University of Iowa, paid homage to his alma mater by naming the main character of Coach (Hayden Fox) after the University of Iowa's longtime football coach Hayden Fry. Many of the exterior shots of "Minnesota State" are actually of the University of Iowa, usually of students walking around the Iowa Memorial Union in downtown Iowa City. The screen shot when returning from commercial breaks is of the outside of the Hillcrest dormitory. There are also numerous shots of Quadrangle Residence Hall as well as the Field House, which once served as the venue for University of Iowa basketball.
Cast
Principal cast ActorRoleYears Craig T. Nelson Hayden Fox 1989–1997 Shelley Fabares Christine Armstrong 1989–1997 Jerry Van Dyke Luther Van Dam 1989–1997 Bill Fagerbakke Michael "Dauber" Dybinski 1989–1997 Kenneth Kimmins Howard Burleigh 1989–1997 Clare Carey Kelly Fox 1989–1994 Katherine Helmond Doris Sherman 1995–1997 Kris Kamm Stuart Rosebrock 1989–1991 Georgia Engel Shirley Burleigh 1991–1997
Recurring roles and guest stars
Troy Aikman as himself George Allen as himself Phyllis Avery Rick Barry as himself Raye Birk as Riley Pringle Jim Boeke as Mr. Dybinski Dick Butkus as himself K Callan as Marion Kennedy Cash as newborn Timothy David ("T.D.") Fox Drew Carey as himself Gil Christner as Father O'Malley Tim Conway as Kenny Montague Pat Crawford Brown as Mrs. Thorkelson Mike Ditka as himself Vlade Divac as Delivery Boy Paul Dooley as Horace Van Dam Elinor Donahue as Lorraine Christopher B. Duncan as Bo Whitley Georgia Engel as Shirley Burleigh Nanette Fabray as Mildred Armstrong Mike Farrell as Jeffrey Brennan Felker as Timothy David ("T.D.") Fox Brian Felker as Timothy David ("T.D.") Fox Eddie George as himself Frank Gifford as himself Kathie Lee Gifford as herself Beth Grant as Martha Bob Griese as himself Mary Hart as herself Brent Hinkley as Delivery Man Lou Holtz as himself Monica Horan as Maureen Keith Jackson as himself Jimmy Johnson as himself Keyshawn Johnson as himself Jerry Jones as himself Vicki Juditz as Rosemary Lenore Kasdorf as Beth Fox Lisa Kudrow as Lauren A. J. Langer as Julie Lucy Liu as Nicole Wong Julio Oscar Mechoso as Martin Dick Martin as Peter Plunkett Al Michaels as himself Kathy Kinney as Mimi Bobeck Priscilla Morrill as Pamela Rizzendough Noah Nelson as Kevin Andrea Parker as Penny/Jean Tom Poston as Dr. Art Hibke, dentist / jeweler Robert Prosky as Jake "The Snake" Connelly Rob Schneider as Leonard Pierre Kraleman Pam Stone as Judy Watkins Hank Stram as himself Robin Strasser as Elaine Tewksbury Barry Switzer as himself Todd Susman as Bill Rita Taggart as Ruthanne Joe Theismann as himself Johnny Unitas as himself John Valdetero as John Dick Van Dyke as Extra Yul Vazquez as Alberto Roca Bobby Vinton as himself Terrence Howard as Johnny Williams James Pickens Jr., as Rick Williams Doria Cook-Nelson as Pamela Alan Young as Ranger Farley
Family connections
Nanette Fabray, Shelley Fabares's aunt, appeared as Christine Armstrong's mother, Mildred, in four episodes. Mike Farrell, Shelley Fabares's husband, appeared as Jeffrey in one episode. Noah Nelson, Craig T. Nelson's son, appeared as Kevin, the biological father of the baby whom Hayden and Christine Fox adopt, in two episodes. He also appeared as Minnesota State football player Cody Wilson in one episode and as a delivery boy in another episode. Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Van Dyke's brother, appeared as an uncredited extra in one episode as one of Luther's distant relatives.
Setting
Minnesota State University In 1963, several bills before the Minnesota State Legislature were developed to create a research university at what was then Mankato State College. Representative Mike McGuire of Montgomery, Minnesota, submitted an amendment that would have changed the name of the institution to Minnesota State University.
During the series run, no school was officially named Minnesota State University. Separately, in 1998 (a year after the show ended), an act of the Minnesota legislature allowed for the renaming of Mankato State University to Minnesota State University, Mankato because of its growing size and to provide better recognition across the Midwest region. As a reaction to this and at the urging of the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, two years later, in 2000, Moorhead State University was also renamed Minnesota State University Moorhead to try to provide parity to other regions regarding the impact of the Mankato name change. The common nickname of Minnesota State has always traditionally referred to Minnesota State University, Mankato, since this historical period. The athletic programs at Mankato are widely referred to in the media as "Minnesota State", without a city identifier, although its sports teams are named the Mavericks instead of Screaming Eagles; however, both the fictional and real-life Minnesota State universities share purple and yellow as school colors.
There are several similarities between fictional Minnesota State University and the real-world Minnesota State Mankato. The Minnesota State Screaming Eagles school colors of purple and gold are also the colors for Minnesota State Mankato and the Minnesota Vikings. The location for the fictional Minnesota State University is never established; however, in several episodes it is mentioned that the campus is located about an hour away from the Twin Cities. The distance from Minneapolis to Mankato is approximately an hour away by car. Coach Hayden Fox is shown to live in a cabin near a lake, similarly to how several Minnesota State Mankato faculty members live in cabins on nearby Lake Washington. The founding of the fictional university is shown to be 1867 in the opening credits and the real university at times was also referred to as being founded in 1867. Later decisions by school administration placed the official date as being founded in 1868.
During the course of the show, Minnesota State's college football conference affiliation is never mentioned. The Screaming Eagles were mentioned to play big-name schools like Michigan State and Tennessee, but other fictional schools, such as Western Colorado, are also mentioned. In the intro of the show, it is shown that Hayden got his coaching start at Chattanooga University, a fictionalized version of the real-life University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (which brands its athletic program as "Chattanooga"). Outdoor shots of campus and stadium were filmed at Kinnick Stadium at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, where creator Barry Kemp went to college. In several episodes, Hayden Fox refers to visiting Christine in the Twin Cities, and it is evident that he is maintaining a long-distance relationship.
In the early 1990s, the producers of the show held a contest to have a real college marching band record the theme song for the show. The contest was won by the Iowa State University Cyclone Football 'Varsity' Marching Band, and their recording was used as the theme until the series ended. The Iowa State University Cyclone Football 'Varsity' Marching Band was also shown in the opening sequence of the show.Iowa State University Department of Music