Coach Donnie Campbell has been referred to as the inspiration for the character, ”Ted Lasso”.
Coach Donnie Campbell is a math teach and a high school basketball coach from Kansas who was plucked out of obscurity when Jason Sudeikis, the American actor and star of the 5-time Emmy Award winning show, Ted Lasso, revealed to Stephen Colbert on the late show that Campbell was in part the impetus for the lead character he plays with such wit and wisdom. It was back in the late 1990’s when Jason played basketball at Shawnee Mission West and Donnie was his coach. Little did Campbell know that all of the pearls of wisdom he was dropping on Jason and the team would appear years later and make an indelible impression on millions around the world.