Lana Graves

## Biographical information

### Marital status

Nicholas Bonomo (High school)Single (s1)Friends-with-benefits with Matthias (s1-s2)Dating Jakob Hilton (s2-)

## Appearances

### Debut

Touchdown on my Heart (Head Coach book series), Kickoff (Head Coach S01E01)

Lana Rochester Graves is the main character of the TV and book series Head Coach. In both the TV and book series, Lana is the first female head coach for the National Football League (NFL).

## Coaching History

* Empire State Youth Football (2016-2017, 6-3)
* Iona Prep (2017-2020, 8-2, 6-4, 7-3, 10-0)
* New York Jets (2020-present, 14-2, 13-4, SB Champs 2021)

## Backstory

### Childhood

Lana Graves was born on March 12th, 1996, in Cleveland, Ohio. Growing up, her parents Harrison and Tabitha Graves spent their free time watching football and sometimes playing the game outside with their daughter. Lana’s love of football began when she was 10, after going to her first football game in-person, which was a game between the Browns and the Jets. After the game, she accidentally bumped into Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, who she eventually had a crush on, before he went to play for the Dolphins in 2008. Since that day, Lana has been a fan of the Jets instead of the Browns. She watched every Jets game she could, spend most of her free time learning about football, and even went to a couple more games whenever her family could afford tickets.

### Teen years

During her middle and high school years, Lana went to her school’s every home and away football game, to root for her home team and study the strategies her team used. She also studied strategies from professional and college football teams, and made a few of her own. In her junior year of high school, she barged into an athletics department meeting at her school, so she could present her made-up strategies her home team could use. The athletics director and the head coach of her school liked her strategies and tactics, and applied them to future games. Her strategies helped her home team have a successful 7-3 season, moving them to a local playoffs bracket, where they lasted for two weeks. In Lana’s senior year, she joined forces with her head coach to gain experience. The head coach at the time, Colt Meadows, believed Lana would be a great coach once she graduated college. She graduated high school in 2012.

While Lana was on her high school football team with the head coach senior year, she dated wide receiver Nicholas “Nicky” Bonomo, whom she later lost her virginity to. Lana and Nicky dated from September 2011 until their graduation day in 2012. Lana believed her relationship with Nicky was beyond awkward, and she never spoke with him again, until the episode “Deflategate”.

*“I lost my virginity to a Def Leppard song.”* - Lana

*“Who has sex to that band? We all know the best band to bang to is Metallica!”* - Jakob in “Deflategate”

Also during her teen years, Lana grew up questioning her gender identity and sexual orientation. She felt more comfortable in androgynous attire and she felt attraction to more than 1 gender. Lana explored her sexuality more in high school, broadening her dating horizons and “hooking up” with different genders, but she did not explore her gender identity, in fears of being ridiculed for it.

### College & career before the NFL

Lana moved from Ohio to New York to attend college at NYU for four years, graduating in 2015 and obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in sports science. A year after her graduation from NYU, Lana began her coaching career at Empire State Youth Football, becoming an assistant coach for the organization. She left a year of coaching for them, after getting attacked by homophobic parents online, calling her anti-gay insults.

*“You’re GAY!!! Football is for STRAIGHT people!”* - Background character

*“I don’t remember that being in the rule book for American gridiron football.” -* Lana in “Teamwork Makes The Dream Work”

In 2017, Lana became the new and first female head coach for Iona Prep football. Despite the school being an all-male Catholic school, Lana’s team made her feel welcome and supported her for who she was. During her time at Iona Prep, she met Deacon Noss and Vincent “Vinnie” Ward, who would soon be drafted to the Jets in the second and third round of the 2020 Draft.

### Time in the NFL

Two weeks before the start of the 2020 regular NFL season, Jets coach Elias Knight was traded to the Giants, leaving a vacant head coach spot for the team. A few months before Knight’s trade, Lana was interviewed by Knight to become his assistant coach, or an offensive coordinator for another team in New York. The same day Knight was traded, he talked to the Jets one more time, and surprisingly, introduced his new head coach, Lana, right on the spot. At the time of the announcement, Lana was working as a ticket sales intern for the team.

*“Unfortunate news, boys. The Giants want me. Dumb move, but that’s what you expect from the Giants I guess. Without further ado, it’s time to meet your new head coach, Elena Gravez!… Nevermind, I mispronounced that. Here’s your new head coach, Lana Graves!”* - Elias Knight in “Kickoff”