Jonathan Coachman Jonathan William Coachman ( August 12 , 1972 ) , also known as " " The Coach " " , is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure . It should be noted that although he labels himself as " " The Coach " " , he has never coached any sport at any level . He is also a former college basketball player , and football play - by - play announcer . He is best known for his work with WWE , where he spent nine years as a commentator , interviewer , and occasional wrestler . He is currently the nationally syndicated afternoon drive host on ESPN Radio ( " Coach & Company " ) , and serves as an anchor for " SportsCenter " on ESPN . Early life . Before embarking on an announcing career in professional wrestling , Coachman was a highly scouted basketball prospect . After two state basketball championships at McPherson High School in McPherson , Kansas , 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 , and doing play - by - play and color commentary for the local football and basketball radio broadcasts . In the mid - 90s , Coachman did a brief stint as a server at Sirloin Stockade in McPherson , Kansas . Coachman was also a sports reporter / anchor at KAKE in Wichita , Kansas . 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 . 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 " ' s coverage of Owen Hart ' s death in May 1999 . Coachman ' s adopted father is a retired United Methodist minister . He is currently married and resides in Southington , Connecticut World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 1999 – 2008 ) . Coachman began his World Wrestling Federation career as an interviewer , commentator , and presenter . His first appearance was on the December 23 , 1999 edition of " SmackDown ! " , where he interviewed The Rock . 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 or wild animals . " Raw " . 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 . Coachman 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 and Jim Ross . This feud would even see the pair win the right to announce the main show from the Ross and Lawler at one point . Later , Coachman achieved a singles victory on pay - per - view at Backlash , in 2004 by defeating Tajiri ( albeit with the assistance of Garrison Cade ) . Coachman would go on to host the 2004 and 2005 Raw Diva Searches . Later , 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 , Coach was involved in an angle involving the McMahon Family publicly firing Jim Ross due to the actions of Ross ' s friend , Steve Austin . The firing of Ross gave Coach the position of lead announcer on " Raw " . The storyline would culminate in a match at Taboo Tuesday where Austin faced 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 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 31 , 2005 edition of " Raw " , Batista came out and accepted the match only to be attacked by Coach ' s backup , the returning Goldust and Vader . At Taboo Tuesday , Batista faced off against Coach in a 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 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 babyface color commentator . 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 . Coachman would enter seventh during the match only to be eliminated almost immediately by The Big Show . During the April 24 edition of " Raw " , after Coachman hosted a Divas bikini contest , Viscera would come down to the ring and perform 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 5 edition of " Heat " , broadcast partner Todd Grisham announced 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 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 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 , would feud with the reformed D - Generation X , and also have issues with John 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 . On the August 6 , 2007 edition of Raw , William Regal became the new General Manager on the Raw brand after winning an 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 . 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 ended up being pinned by Hornswoggle after a Clothesline From Hell and a Tadpole Splash . A rivalry ensued , and during it , another Hornswoggle trap style event occurred . One night Coachman chased Hornswoggle all over the backstage area , and it eventually moved to the arena , where Hornswoggle performed his infamous " 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 detonate 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 deteonated successfully , cause Smoke to appear from under the ring , and the cameras to make TV screens change color , from gray to rainbow , and according to JR , the building shook . Coachman was charred and unable to move . " Friday Night SmackDown ! " . Coachman became Michael Cole ' s new SmackDown ! broadcast partner on January 4 , 2008 ( after John " Bradshaw " Layfield had left the position to return to the ring ) . He was replaced by Mick Foley , however , at Backlash on April 27 . In 2008 , Coachman left World Wrestling Entertainment to begin a career with ESPN . In April 2009 , Coachman was involved in a video with John Cena meeting up since his departure from the WWE . Cena made fun of Coach stating he is an " intern " on " SportsCenter " ( this was when Coachman told Cena he now hosts " SportsCenter " ) . After agreeing to catch up with each other , Cena locked Coach out of the ESPN building with Coachman stating , " I know this was funny that last 9 years or so . . . but come on , man . " In January 2010 , The Rock was a special guest on SportsCenter , promoting his new movie " Tooth Fairy " . The Coach was once again involved in a skit with The Rock , where he was mocked by him , and Coach invited him to be interviewed on the station . Personal life . Coachman and his wife Amy have two children , a daughter , Kayana , and a son , JJ . Amy is a pharmaceutical Representative for a company out of Ohio . Amy was a former college athlete , turned personal trainer . Other media . In 2001 , Coachman was the sideline reporter for the XFL professional football league . He worked on the second - team broadcasts with Matt Vasgersian , Jim Ross , Jerry Lawler , and Dick Butkus . During the week of November 5 , 2007 , he appeared on " Family Feud " with Ric Flair , Batista , Mr . Kennedy , King Booker , Queen Sharmell , Layla , Candice Michelle , Maria and Michelle McCool . In addition to his WWE assignments , Coachman called various sports events on College Sports Television , a cable and satellite network owned by CBS . 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 games . He also hosted the weekly MSG program " MSG , NY " . In 2009 , Coachman signed with ESPN as anchor of " SportsCenter " . In 2012 , Coachman became the host of " Coach & Company " , a nationally syndicated radio program that airs on ESPN Radio in afternoon drive ( Eastern Standard Time ) . Coachman also lends his voice talents to the video game " Black College Football Xperience : The Doug Williams Edition " .