Jason Sudeikis has already secured his place in pop culture’s fictional coaching pantheon thanks to Ted Lasso. Sure, his mustachioed manager might not know all the finer details of European football. In fact, he doesn’t even know most soccer basics. There’s more to coaching than just the Xs and Os though. You have to make your players believe in themselves and their teammates. And no one does that better than Ted. But there’s more than one way to be an effective coach. Rather than inspire through respect and positive reinforcement, you can try fear and intimidation. That approach works for Sudeikis in the Foo Fighters music video for their new song “Love Dies Young.” This time the Ted Lasso stars plays the world’s most intense high school girl’s synchronized swimming coach.
There’s a whole lot going on in this video (which we first saw at Collider). It opens with Sudeikis playing a cross between former women’s US gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi and the worst dad you’ll meet at every Pop Warner football game. But after some genuine laughs—especially the bit about how the coach’s dad died—things take an unsettling turn. The unseen faces of the synchronized swimming team get replaced by the Foo Fighters. All but Pat Smear that is, who gets to be the janitor in a Caddyshack homage at the end.
Despite fighting with one another in the pool, one teammate nearly dying from some especially heinous flatulence, and their coach being a preening embarrassment, the squad manages to overcome their issues to get a perfect 10 from the judges. Proving once again that if you want results from a fictional coach, you call Jason Sudeikis.
Of course, this coach is dramatically different from Ted Lasso. Which means the key to being an effective manager is clear: you must have a great mustache to lead any team.
