Coach ( TV series ) - wikipedia Coach ( TV series ) Coach Genre Sitcom Created by Barry Kemp Starring Craig T. Nelson Shelley Fabares Jerry Van Dyke Bill Fagerbakke Clare Carey Kenneth Kimmins Katherine Helmond Theme music composer John Morris Composer ( s ) J.A.C. Redford Country of origin United States Original language ( s ) English No. of seasons 9 No. of episodes 200 ( list of episodes ) Production Executive producer ( s ) Barry Kemp Running time 24 minutes Production company ( s ) Bungalow 78 Productions Universal Television Distributor NBCUniversal Television Distribution The Program Exchange Release Original network ABC Original release February 28, 1989 ( 1989 - 02 - 28 ) -- May 14, 1997 ( 1997 - 05 - 14 ) External links Website www.nbc.com/coach Coach is an American sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from February 28, 1989 to May 14, 1997, with a total of 200 half - hour episodes. The series stars Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles. 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. Contents 1 Plot 2 Episodes 2.1 `` Viva Las Vegas '' 3 Development 4 Cast 4.1 Principal cast 4.2 Recurring roles and guest stars 4.3 Family connections 5 Setting 5.1 Minnesota State University 5.2 Orlando Breakers 5.3 Series finale 5.4 Syndication 6 Awards 7 Scheduling conflict with Monday Night Football 8 DVD releases 9 Attempted sequel 10 References 11 External links Plot In early seasons, Coach Fox continues to come to grips with the emerging womanhood of his `` little girl '', Kelly, now a campus coed 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 'd met another woman. While overtly supporting Kelly with her heartbreak, Coach Fox clandestinely could n't 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. Much of Hayden 's coaching job, besides mentoring his players, was working with his defensive coordinator Luther Van Dam ( Jerry Van Dyke ), a lifelong bachelor who often struggled with self - confidence, and special teams coach Michael `` Dauber '' Dybinski ( Bill Fagerbakke ), an ex-player at Minnesota State and a stereotypical `` dumb jock '' whose ongoing joke was that he had not yet graduated from Minnesota State despite being enrolled for several years ( he would later graduate with three bachelor 's degrees in physical education, business administration, and forestry without even knowing it until he got his transcript for that semester ), but who would often surprisingly be of intellectual help to the team, usually learned from a class he was attending or because he was a fan of Nova. Ladies ' basketball coach Judy Watkins ( Comedian 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 Minnesota State athletic director Howard Burleigh ( Kenneth Kimmins ) and his nutty 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 Main article : List of Coach episodes Season Episodes Originally aired Nielsen ratings Season premiere Season finale Rank Rating 13 February 28, 1989 ( 1989 - 02 - 28 ) June 7, 1989 ( 1989 - 06 - 07 ) N / A N / A 20 November 21, 1989 ( 1989 - 11 - 21 ) May 15, 1990 ( 1990 - 05 - 15 ) 18 17.0 22 September 25, 1990 ( 1990 - 09 - 25 ) April 9, 1991 ( 1991 - 04 - 09 ) 18 15.3 22 October 1, 1991 ( 1991 - 10 - 01 ) May 19, 1992 ( 1992 - 05 - 19 ) 10 16.7 5 23 September 16, 1992 ( 1992 - 09 - 16 ) May 19, 1993 ( 1993 - 05 - 19 ) 6 17.5 6 27 September 14, 1993 ( 1993 - 09 - 14 ) May 24, 1994 ( 1994 - 05 - 24 ) 6 17.4 7 25 September 12, 1994 ( 1994 - 09 - 12 ) May 10, 1995 ( 1995 - 05 - 10 ) 53 10.5 8 25 September 12, 1995 ( 1995 - 09 - 12 ) May 21, 1996 ( 1996 - 05 - 21 ) 14 12.9 9 23 September 28, 1996 ( 1996 - 09 - 28 ) May 14, 1997 ( 1997 - 05 - 14 ) 64 8.1 `` Viva Las Vegas '' See also : Grace Under Fire § Viva Las Vegas, The Drew Carey Show § Viva Las Vegas, and Ellen ( TV series ) § Viva Las Vegas The 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 Actor Role Years 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 Clare Carey Kelly Fox 1989 -- 1994 Kris Kamm Stuart Rosebrock 1989 -- 1991 Kenneth Kimmins Howard Burleigh 1989 -- 1997 Georgia Engel Shirley Burleigh 1991 -- 1997 Katherine Helmond Doris Sherman 1995 -- 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 Pat Crawford Brown as Mrs. Thorkelson Dick Butkus as himself K Callan as Marion Gil Christner as Father O'Malley Tim Conway as Kenny Montague Mike Ditka as himself Vlade Divac as Delivery Boy 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 Drew Carey as Drew Allison Carey 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 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 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 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. This occurred nearly 26 years prior to the airing of the first episode of Coach. During the series run no school was officially named Minnesota State University. In 1998, however, an act of the Minnesota legislature renamed Mankato State University to Minnesota State University, Mankato due to 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, Moorhead State University was also renamed Minnesota State University Moorhead two years later in 2000 to try to provide parity to other areas 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. 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 is shown to live in a cabin near a lake, similarly several faculty in reality 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 was founded in 1868. Cast of Coach in Seasons 8 and 9 ( left to right ) : Kenneth Kimmins, Shelley Fabares, Craig T. Nelson, Bill Fagerbakke, Katherine Helmond, and Jerry Van Dyke During the course of the show, Minnesota State is never mentioned to belong to any college football conference. 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. This could imply that Minnesota State acts as an independent in college football. In the intro of the show, is it 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 90s, 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. In the 1993 -- 1994 television season, Hayden Fox led his Minnesota State Screaming Eagles to victory in the Pioneer Bowl, held in San Antonio, winning the national championship. In real life, Florida State won the national championship that season. The Alamodome opened in May 1993, in time for the real - life 1993 football season. However, the first Alamo Bowl and Pioneer Bowl games had not been played yet. Also, the real - life Pioneer Bowl is not even an NCAA Division I game but rather a postseason game played between the champions of two Division II conferences whose members are all historically black schools. Footage from the 1993 edition of the Wisconsin vs. Minnesota rivalry game played in the Metrodome was used for the actual game to represent Minnesota State and the fictional West Texas University ( not to be confused with the real West Texas A&M University or Texas Western College, now known as UTEP ). Al Michaels provides the commentary during the game. Orlando Breakers In the 1995 season, Hayden Fox gets a chance to fulfill his ultimate dream and become the head coach of an NFL team. He accepts the head coaching position with the ( fictional ) expansion team the Orlando Breakers, owned by recent widow Doris Sherman ( played by Katherine Helmond ). Sherman, however, is more interested in making money off of the team as well as gimmicks ( such as asking if Hayden would like to coach a basketball team she was thinking of buying after selling the Breakers and trading away their first - round draft pick for a pair of cruise tickets ) than she is in letting Coach Fox guide the Breakers to success on the football field. Nearly the entire crew from Minnesota State followed Fox to Orlando, including Luther and Dauber, who remained his assistant coaches. In the final season, Hayden is able to coach the Breakers to a wild card spot in the NFL Playoffs but loses to the Buffalo Bills in that playoff game at Buffalo. The name Orlando Breakers was a salute to the defunct USFL and the Portland Breakers, New Orleans Breakers, and Boston Breakers. The Breakers themselves were a parody of the fellow Florida - based Jacksonville Jaguars, who, like the Breakers, joined the NFL in 1995 as an expansion team and made the playoffs their second season as a wild card team and, like the Breakers, played the Bills in their first playoff game. ( Unlike the Breakers, the Jaguars came out victorious, 30 -- 27, eventually losing to the New England Patriots 20 -- 6 in the AFC Championship Game. ) Another tie - in between the Breakers and the Jaguars was that the very first game the latter played in, the 1995 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game ( against their expansion brethren the Carolina Panthers ), aired on ABC, the same network as Coach. Series finale The final episode of the sitcom, entitled `` Leaving Orlando '', aired on ABC on May 14, 1997. The final scene in the final episode featured the whole cast thanking the audience for nine years of the show, with cast member Jerry Van Dyke denying the series ending, thinking the show must go on. But the cast and director finally tell Van Dyke that the show is truly over, with Van Dyke still denying the show 's finale : As the lights go out, Van Dyke mumbles, `` I 'm still coming to work on Monday. '' The final episode also includes an epilogue showing that Hayden retired from coaching and moved back to his cabin in Minnesota to raise his son, with Christine being a working wife at a local station. Luther also retired and continued his relationship with Doris, building a Graceland style manor as tribute to his idol, Elvis Presley. Howard and Shirley sold their collection of rare Barbie dolls, using the capital to acquire and manage a successful dinner theatre in Florida. Dauber succeeded Hayden as the head coach of the Breakers, winning back - to - back Super Bowl championships and going on to join the Monday Night Football announcing team after his retirement from football. The final scene shows a 10 - year - old Tim having two friends who bear a striking resemblance to child versions of Dauber and Luther. Syndication In the United States, reruns currently air on the ReelzChannel as well as in local syndication in select cities and on Deja View and Comedy Gold in Canada. The Program Exchange handles syndication and typically offers the show to stations on short - term barter runs. Reruns have previously aired on WGN America, USA Network, and TBS. Netflix discontinued Coach on September 15, 2015. Antenna TV began airing the series with a marathon on Janiary 1, 2018. Awards Emmy Awards : 1992 : Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor -- Comedy Series ( Craig T. Nelson ) 1996 : Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor -- Comedy Series ( Tim Conway ) American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ( ASCAP ) Awards : 1992 : Top TV Series 1993 : Top TV Series 1994 : Top TV Series 1995 : Top TV Series 1996 : Top TV Series Scheduling conflict with Monday night football This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2015 ) For season seven, ABC aired original episodes of Coach on Monday night, before Monday Night Football, as part of a football - themed night. This was successful on the United States east coast, where MNF games aired from 9 : 00 pm to 12 : 30 am, local time. However, on the west coast, MNF games aired from 6 : 00 pm to 9 : 30 pm ( with possible overtime ), leaving some Monday network programming with no time slots. During this interval, the show was aired at unusual hours on the west coast. For instance, Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO aired new episodes of Coach on Saturday afternoons ( coincidentally, ABC also aired college football games most of the time on Saturday afternoons ). Some fans have cited this time - slot displacement on the west coast as a reason for low ratings in season seven. Coach was moved to Tuesday nights the following season which resulted in a bump in ratings, returning Coach to the top 20 ). DVD releases Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the first four seasons of Coach on DVD in Region 1. Two different versions were released of the first season : a regular edition and a limited edition which featured special packaging ( a playbook ). On July 1, 2016, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1 ; they subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on September 6, 2016. On September 26, 2017, Mill Creek released Coach -- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. The 18 - disc set contains all 9 seasons of the series, the first time episodes beyond season 4 have been available on DVD. Universal Pictures UK released season 1 on DVD in Region 2 on August 7, 2006. DVD Name Ep # Release date The First Season 13 June 13, 2006 The Second Season 20 May 15, 2007 The Third Season 22 February 19, 2008 The Fourth Season 21 March 15, 2011 The Complete Series 200 September 12, 2017 Attempted sequel On March 26, 2015, NBC ordered 13 episodes of a sequel series to Coach, set to focus on Hayden Fox 's son, who had recently taken a coaching job at a small college. Most of the original series ' stars were set to reprise their roles, except for Shelley Fabares who is battling autoimmune hepatitis. Her role as Christine, Hayden 's wife, was to be written off as having died. On August 31, 2015, TVLine reported the series had been cancelled due to the pilot having `` mixed results ''. References ^ Jump up to : Brooks, Tim ; Marsh, Earle ( 2007 ). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present ( Ninth Edition ). Ballantine Books. p. 1692. ISBN 978 - 0 - 345 - 49773 - 4. ^ Jump up to : Brooks, Tim ; Marsh, Earle ( 2007 ). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present ( Ninth Edition ). Ballantine Books. p. 1693. ISBN 978 - 0 - 345 - 49773 - 4. ^ Jump up to : Brooks, Tim ; Marsh, Earle ( 2007 ). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present ( Ninth Edition ). Ballantine Books. p. 1694. ISBN 978 - 0 - 345 - 49773 - 4. Jump up ^ `` Mankato College May be ' Minnesota State ' ''. La Crosse Tribune. Associated Press. 19 April 1963. Retrieved 24 July 2017. Jump up ^ Similar to the case of Minnesota State, an actual school in Colorado adopted a similar name, Western State Colorado University, in 2012. Jump up ^ Iowa State University Department of Music Archived 2007 - 06 - 14 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Coach TV Show ''. project80s.com. Jump up ^ `` New NFL Team : The `` Los Angeles Jaguars '' ? ``. sportsbusinessdigest.com. Retrieved February 9, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Jacksonville Jaguars Heading for Los Angeles ? ''. Zoneblitz.com. Retrieved February 9, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Coach DVD news : Check out the playbook packaging ! - TVShowsOnDVD.com ''. tvshowsondvd.com. Retrieved February 9, 2015. Jump up ^ Re-Releases for the First Two Seasons on DVD, Starring Craig T. Nelson Jump up ^ SCORE ! ' The Complete Series ' Comes to DVD At Last ! Jump up ^ `` Coach -- The First Season ( DVD ) ''. amazon.co.uk. Retrieved February 9, 2015. Jump up ^ Andreeva, Nellie ( March 26, 2015 ). `` ' Coach ' Comes Back As 13 - Episode NBC Series Starring Craig T. Nelson ''. Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 29, 2015. Jump up ^ Ausiello, Michael ( August 8, 2015 ). `` Coach Shocker : NBC Revival Poised to Kill Off Shelley Fabares ' Christine ''. TVLine. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Andreeva, Nellie ( August 31, 2015 ). `` Coach '' Reboot Not Going Forward At NBC, Will Be Shopped Elsewhere ``. Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 31, 2015. External links Official website Episode guide Coach on IMDb Coach at TV.com Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coach_(TV_series)&oldid=818269635 '' Categories : 1989 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings 1980s American comedy television series 1990s American comedy television series American Broadcasting Company network shows American sports television series American television sitcoms Television series set in universities and colleges College football television series English - language television programs Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Orlando, Florida Television shows set in Minnesota Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from May 2015 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Nederlands Polski Português Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Edit links This page was last edited on 2 January 2018, at 16 : 22. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played coach on the tv show coach
Answer: Craig T. Nelson