With little explanation, Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman joined Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler at the commentary booth for Vengeance. The announcer has been part of the team ever since and, according to WWE.com, his seat at the table is permanent. Coach was hardly humble when offering insight into why WWE offered him the position.
“Vince (McMahon) and the producers came to me the day before Vengeance and said I might be doing it,” Coach told WWE.com. “They wanted the broadcast team to get a little younger and a little better looking. But I didn’t know for sure I was in until a few hours before the show.”
Nonetheless, Coach is aware that there are some “old school” fans who might not approve of his position at the table. Since Vengeance, wrestling critics have offered very few words of praise for Coachman.
“I can’t worry about those fans,” Coach said. “If you’re old school, that’s fine. But change is part of life. If they don’t like me, that’s fine, as long as they watch the show they know I’m going to entertain them. And I still run into people at the airport and at restaurants who say they love me as part of the announce team.”
And, despite his arrogant on-air personality, the announcer has no problem admitting his job’s difficulty and putting over his legendary partners.
“Wrestling is one of the hardest sports to call,” Coach said. “I’ve done other sports, and those were easy compared to this. But I’m sitting next to one of the legendary play-by-play guys in the business in J.R. and The King is no slouch. We’re making each other better every week.”
