NBC Orders a Coach Sequel Starring Craig T. Nelson

I think we got our signals crossed, NBC. My letter said I wanted to see more Coach Taylor, not more Coach! To the surprise of pretty much everyone, NBC is reviving the beloved sports sitcom, TV.com has confirmed.

Coach ran from 1989 to 1997 on ABC and starred Craig T. Nelson, who just finished a six-season run as the dearly departed Braverman patriarch on Parenthood. The sitcom centered on Hayden Fox (Nelson), head coach of the fictional college football team the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles, and later on, the fictional NFL team the Orlando Breakers.

NBC's revival of the series will run for 13 episodes and pick up 18 years after the original, when Coach Fox comes out of retirement to become an assistant coach to his own son, who's been named new head football coach at an Ivy League school in Pennsylvania that's starting a new team. (Um, not to retread too much, but we hear Peter Krause was great at playing a coach, albeit a Little League one, as Nelson's TV son on Parenthood.)

Coach series creator Barry Kemp will write and executive-produce the show's return, and Nelson will serve as an executive producer in addition to reprising the title role. There's no word yet on whether other cast members from the original series will return, or when the new episodes will premiere.

The news comes just two days after Fox officially ordered six new episodes of The X-Files. In addition to Coach, NBC is also bringing back sci-fi hit Heroes.