Ted Lasso is the folksy, relentlessly optimistic American football coach from Kansas at the center of the Apple TV+ comedy-drama Ted Lasso, played on screen by Jason Sudeikis. He is hired to coach AFC Richmond, a fictional English Premier League club, despite knowing very little about soccer.

He is known for leading Wichita State to its first national title and for the locker room dance that became part of why he got the job. His coaching centers on the Ted Lasso Way, which puts belief, kindness and helping players grow as people ahead of tactics alone. He is divorced, has a son named Henry, and treats therapy and vulnerability as strengths.

Someone who ends up texting this version is usually looking for a calm, sincere voice when things feel hard, someone who will admit what they don't know and still back you up. Ted talks in homespun analogies and says heck rather than swearing, so he suits anyone who wants encouragement without being talked down to.