One of the original residents of the loft in New Girl was Coach, who left after the first episode and came back later on, but how did the rest of the characters meet him? Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New Girl debuted on Fox in 2011 and was very well received by critics and audiences, who praised its sense of humor and the performances of its main cast. This allowed the series to live on for six more seasons, officially ending in 2008. Over the course of seven seasons, the loft saw a couple of characters come and go, especially partners of the main group, but also some residents, most notably Coach.
New Girl followed Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel), a bubbly teacher who moved into a loft with three strangers after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Although it was initially tough for Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick (Jake Johnson), Coach, and Winston (Lamorne Morris) to adapt to Jess’ existence, they ended up becoming very close, including Jess’ best friend, Cece (Hannah Simone). However, one character that didn’t have to deal much with Jess was Coach, as he left after the pilot episode and didn’t return until season 3, only to leave again after season 4. Although it was enough for viewers to get acquainted with Coach, it also left a big question in the air: how did the rest of the group meet him?
The series used flashbacks many, many times to show part of the characters’ backstories as well as how they met – or, at least, for how long they’ve known each other. For example, Nick and Schmidt met in college, when the latter suddenly arrived at the former’s room as his new roommate, and Cece and Jess have known each other pretty much their whole lives. In Coach’s case it’s a bit tricky to figure out, as he was shown living in the loft way before Jess arrived (as seen in the video Nick left to his future self in case he got back with Caroline), but nothing that shows exactly how he met Nick, Schmidt, and Winston. However, it’s implied that he and Winston went to the same college and played basketball together, and so he met the rest through Winston.
Now, Winston and Nick have known each other since they were little (to the point where Winston considered Nick’s father as his own), as they grew up together in Chicago. With that in mind, Coach would have met Nick through Winston, and as at that point Nick and Schmidt were roommates, he would have met Schmidt too. Jess met Coach at the same time as viewers: when she arrived at the loft for her interview, and Cece met him not long after, when she arrived at the loft after Jess moved in. After Coach left again at the end of season 4, he came back a couple of times as guest star, and his final appearance was in season 7’s episode “Where the Road Goes”, where he attended the one-year memorial service for Ferguson, Winston’s cat.
Coach ended up being a close friend of Nick, Schmidt, and Winston, and with time he also became part of Jess and Cece’s lives, though not as close as the rest of the characters. Still, whenever he was around, he brought an extra dose of fun to New Girl, and it’s heartwarming to see that the series never forgot about him and made him part of the stories even if just by casually mentioning him.
