The Bear: Duke’s Coach K Is Such a Fan, He Sent Ayo Edebiri a Signed Book — And Wants to Make a Cameo

A basketball legend is admiring The Bear’s hustle.

Former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K, became an unlikely plot point in Season 2 of Hulu’s culinary dramedy, with chef Sydney (played by Ayo Edebiri) finding inspiration in Coach K’s book Leading With the Heart: Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business and Life — even though she didn’t know who Coach K was. Well, Coach K didn’t know much about The Bear, either… but now he does.

“I got texts from people saying, ‘Your book is on The Bear.’ I said, ‘What the hell [is] The Bear?'” Krzyzewski, who coached at Duke for more than four decades and has the most coaching wins in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history, recalled on a recent episode of The Brotherhood Podcast (per our sister site Variety). But that led to him watching the show, and he became a fan — and then he noticed that he and Edebiri are both represented by Hollywood agency CAA.

“So I just sent her an autographed book of Leading With the Heart,” Krzyzewski recounted, “and I told my agent, ‘In the future, if they keep going, why don’t I do a cameo? Like, go and have a meal, maybe.’ It’s in my hometown, Chicago. And it’s a heck of a show.”

The Bear‘s second season, with all the Coach K references, debuted on Hulu in June. There’s no official word on a Season 3 yet — but when there is, we’ll be keeping an eye out for a certain coaching icon among the diners at Carmy and Sydney’s restaurant.

Are you hoping to see Coach K and more celebrity cameos in Season 3 of The Bear? Share your wish list in a comment below.