Ted Lasso’s long-time assistant slash best friend Coach Beard has been a rather mysterious character throughout the three seasons of the Apple TV Plus series, with the biggest reason being — his name. Ted and Beard, the two American coaches who came to the UK together seemed like an unlikely duo but grew a cult following quickly. Ted Lasso‘s directors scored an excellent hit by deciding to keep Coach Beard’s name undisclosed until the very last moment, which sowed an unusual curiosity in the viewers about his character. But did they really keep it hidden?
Over the course of the three seasons, the show kept Coach Beard’s past and name a secret, and viewers were fixated on learning his real name. Only in the ninth episode of season 2, “Beard After Hours”, do we get our first look at the real person hiding behind the beardy, hat-wearing coach. But way before this, Ted actually revealed Coach Beard’s name, just not how we thought he would.
What is Coach Beard’s real name?
After considerable anticipation, season 3 finally unmasked information on Ted and Beard’s connection. The reason Beard was willing to relocate across the seas with his pal was because Ted was there for him when he had lost all hope. Beard turned into a drug addict and robber after Ted’s and his career as backup players on a football team in the United States came to an end, but Ted helped him become sober and offered him the position of an assistant. Even after Beard stole Ted’s car, he gave him a second chance.
So Long, Farewell, the season 3 finale, provided the answer to the long-standing query of fans. In the film’s last scene, Ted and Beard are traveling back to the United States together, and Beard confesses “I can’t do this. I don’t want to go, Ted… I wanna stay and I don’t want to let you down,” and then shares a final line of dialogue with him saying; “I love you, Ted.”
Fans go wild right then when Ted responds, “I love you too, Willis.” But this scene does not actually reveal Coach Beard’s real name, it only confirms it.
Coach Beard’s name was already revealed in a ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ reference in season 2
Ted Lasso is famous for making frequent pop culture references and hilarious one-liners. Among the pool of sources, Lasso also references the famous 1970s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes. In Goodbye Earl, the first episode of season 2, Ted channels his inner Arnold Jackson and addresses Coach Beard as “Willis” during the Diamond Dogs’ unofficial meeting.
Ted cites the iconic line from Diff’rent Strokes, “What you talking about, Willis?” in response to Beard’s “I think we already know what it is, don’t we coach?” Fans dismissed it as just another reference, but it turns out that Coach Beard was actually Willis after all.