CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The second season of FX/Hulu’s Chicago-set restaurant drama series “The Bear” is one of the top streaming shows in the nation, and former Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski might as well be listed as a co-star.
The legendary coach, who retired in 2022, by our count appears in six out of 10 episodes this season, mostly on the cover of his 2001 book “Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business and Life.” The book is given to one of the show’s main characters, Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), by her father, as she embarks on opening a new Chicago restaurant with acclaimed chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White).
The book is first shown in Episode 3, as Sydney reads while waiting for food at a restaurant. Oh, cool moment, think most basketball fans. But then the book — and discussion of Krzyzewski as a coach — pops up over and over, becoming an important thread throughout the rest of the season.
Episode 7 even shows footage of an old interview of Krzyzewski, a Chicago native, talking about leadership and teamwork while Sydney works in the kitchen. Krzyzewski’s words on being part of a team gel so well with what’s happening with Sydney, Carmy and the other members of The Bear’s kitchen, that we wondered if Krzyzewski filmed it specifically for the show.
So we asked him.
Turns out, no, he did not film it for the show. In fact, he didn’t even know any of this was going to happen.
“This was all a surprise to me,” Krzyzewski told The News & Observer. “Just started receiving texts from people last week about being mentioned on the show. All positive. We will have to watch it!”
All the Coach K mentions on ‘The Bear’
Warning: mild spoilers ahead.
Episode 3: Sydney, on a food tour of Chicago, sits at a table in a restaurant reading “Leading with the Heart” while waiting for her order. The waiter puts the plate down and says, “Courage and confidence.” Sydney looks puzzled so the waiter continues: “The book. Coach K fan?” Sydney replies “No, my dad got it for me.”
The waiter explains: “Courage and confidence leads to decision making. Go devils.” (He forgot the “blue” part, but we’ll forgive him.)
Episode 4: Sydney has the book with her while she’s eating cereal at home and Facetiming with pastry chef Marcus, who is in Copenhagen. Marcus asks her what she’s reading and she holds up the book .
Marcus: “Coach K. The greatest comeback of all time.” Sydney is baffled. “What!? How does everyone know that?” “Sydney, it’s Coach K.” Sydney still doesn’t get it. “Why are you saying his name like he’s Martin Luther King Jr.? He’s like, a college basketball coach,” she says. Marcus laughs, “OK. So what did you learn?”
Now, Sydney gets excited. “Dude. They had a minute left, and they kept their composure. He made a bunch of decisions, and it was very cool. And they won. Sports.”
“They kept drilling,” Marcus says.
“They kept drilling,” Sydney replies.
Episode 5: This episode opens with Sydney and Tina, Sydney’s sous chef, working through a “busy” new dish Sydney has conceived. “Leading with the Heart” sits on the counter.
Later in the episode, as Sydney tries to get part of Carmy’s focus to make some decisions, she asks, “Have you heard of K?” Carmy looks confused. “Duke men’s basketball coach. Yeah, yeah,” he replies. And then walks away. Sydney’s attempt to engage Carmy in a conversation about what she’s learning about teamwork and composure fails.
Episode 6: This is The Christmas Dinner episode and Krzyzewski was not involved — he should be grateful. (Excellent but intense!)
Episode 7: This episode opens once again with Sydney in the kitchen, this time working alone to try to perfect a dish. The dialogue from Krzyzewski’s interview plays over the scene, with moments from the interview flashing on the screen.
The interview starts with someone asking Krzyzewski about the most important lessons of leadership.
Here’s what Coach K says: “In order to get better you change limits, and when you change limits you’re gonna look bad and you’re gonna fail. And at West Point, I learned that failure was never a destination. In other words when you are not back, figure out why and then change.
“The other thing is that you’re not gonna get there alone. Be on a team. Surround yourself with good people and learn how to listen. You’re not gonna learn with you just talking. And when you do talk, converse, don’t make excuses. Figure out the solution, and you don’t have to figure it out yourself. I always wanted to be part of a team.”
Episode 8: Sydney is talking to Carmy about teamwork in the kitchen and quotes Krzyzewski’s book while holding it. The episode ends with Sydney going home late at night on the L, watching the legendary 2001 Duke vs. Maryland game — known as The Miracle Minute game. The screen of her phone shows Duke behind by 8 points with 49 seconds left. Duke won the game. “They kept drilling,” as Marcus and Sydney said.
Episode 9: As they get ready for the restaurant’s opening night, we see Sydney tape a photo of Coach K on the table of her work station, and she puts little stickers on it.
Episode 10: It’s opening night. Things are going well until they are not. After a big setback, a chaotic make-it-or-break-it situation presents itself in the kitchen, and Sydney is in charge. While the camera fixes on Sydney’s face, a series of images quickly flash across the screen, including Sydney’s be-stickered photo of Coach K. She keeps her composure, makes some decisions, and gets the kitchen team back in action. They go on — dare we say it — an exhilarating five-minute run as the kitchen clock ticks down to zero. Victory.
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