FEATURED A tribute to our dear friend CouchCoach

[Sarge]

RIP CC. A class act and invaluable member here. It was a pleasure and honor to “work” with you. Fly free my friend….

 

[Montanalo]

How to do claim someone as a friend even though you have never met or, for that matter, didn't even know his real name?

It's pretty easy when that "friend" is Coach.

Long before i traded comments with him about the Cowboys, I found a kindred soul on the "Pops" thread. He openly shared his struggle with cancer - first with his wife and, later with himself.

I greatly admired his ability to take whatever life threw at him head-on. No matter the circumstances he genuinely had an upbeat "message"

I will miss him and our dialogue immensely.

@Bobhaze thank for starting this thread. Ir would be nice if you could share our posts with his son - what a wonderful and lasting testimonial.

 

[Bobhaze]

How to do claim someone as a friend even though you have never met or, for that matter, didn't even know his real name?

It's pretty easy when that "friend" is Coach.

Long before i traded comments with him about the Cowboys, I found a kindred soul on the "Pops" thread. He openly shared his struggle with cancer - first with his wife and, later with himself.

I greatly admired his ability to take whatever life threw at him head-on. No matter the circumstances he genuinely had an upbeat "message"

I will miss him and our dialogue immensely.

@Bobhaze thank for starting this thread. Ir would be nice if you could share our posts with his son - what a wonderful and lasting testimonial.

Thanks Monty- I have shared a link to this tribute with his son. Haven’t heard back from him yet on that but if/when I do, I will share it here.

 

[StylisticS]

Oh man I enjoyed his posts. Sad news to hear. RIP CoachCouch

 

[nightrain]

Damn, that's a gut punch. Have enjoyed many years of pithy commentary with Michael. He will be missed. I wish I would have wandered into the Morning Pops thread and hear of his illness. RIP, Coach.....Friend.

 

[Pass2Run]

I am sad to announce we have recently lost an irreplaceable member of our fan community here at The Zone. Michael Baer, aka “CouchCoach” has passed away after a long illness which was confirmed by his son today. Like me, many of you have noticed his absence of late and missed his always fun and interesting insights here.

I have known CC for over a decade going back to the days of the old Cowboys forum on the team site. He was always gracious and funny with a sharp and insightful wit and a wise contributor to all the topics he visited.

Reading his posts were not only interesting and smile inducing, they also were often full of wisdom and insight to life itself. His writing style was incredibly witty, clever and off beat, often bringing insights into not only football but many topics of life. We communicated frequently through PMs the last year and a half talking about his health and the challenges he faced. He never lost his sense of humor or wit in the face of pain and decline.

Many times in the last year, Couch Coach wrote in great detail and eloquence in the “Morning Pops” thread of his long and difficult health journey. If you’ve never read them, it might be worth your time to revisit what he wrote and take note of how gracious he remained to the end.

His last post on our forum was made on Sept.19th when he welcomed a new member (which he often did) by simply saying, “Welcome to the best sports site.” It was the last thing he wrote here.

His kindness was always upfront. His humor was quick and top shelf; never at the expense of someone else and often self deprecating. He loved the Cowboys but had long ago let go of basing his happiness on their success.

One way we can ALL honor our dear friend is by following his example - don’t take yourself or your points on this forum too seriously. Being kind to our fellow fans is way more important than being right.

Any time any one of us takes the time to welcome a new member to the forum, or encourages someone here, or reminds us that life is more important than what happens to the Cowboys each week, we should remember Michael “Couch Coach” Baer.

Rest in peace brother. You are deeply missed.
Go Cowboys!

Oh no.. I was just going back and forth with him a while back.

To his family, and son, I am truly sorry for your loss. He contributed a lot to the board. He was so spunky around here, I had no idea he was ill.

 

[cheftjpeck]

REST IN PEACE Couch coach
God bless - you will be sincerely missed !!

 

[Aven8]

You will be missed, but never forgotten good sir.

RIP @CouchCoach

 

[Duane]

Sending prayers to he and his family. Rest in peace Coach.

 

[RonnieT24]

Amen Haze... may he rest in peace.. I really enjoyed my interactions with CC over the past decade. Whether we agreed or disagreed, we always had fun respectful interchange. Like many here.. I will miss him dearly.

 

[Mr_437]

Wow.
Vibe High, CoughCouch it was a pleasure.

 

[SDCowboy]

Sorry to hear. He'll be missed.

 

[Carson]

RIP my friend.

 

[Captain-Crash]

Great guy. A true peacemaker and friend. He will be missed. Prayers for his family and friends.

 

[boysfanperiod]

Aww, CC. Farewell and Godspeed.

Praying for his family and loved ones as they go through this difficult time.

 

[BleedSilverandBlue]

Rest Easy CC! We miss you here.

 

[Blitzen]

Wow-that hurts my heart. I do not post much, but always enjoyed his unique perspective and genuineness. We interacted on DC.com and he always made you comfortable to have your own perspective without needing to battle.

Some of you are already missing him, and I know his family is missing him dearly. Rest easy bro, hope some of your spirit rubbed off on some of the posters. Gooo Cowboys!

 

[G2]

A wonderful human we are all blessed to have had in our lives. Cream of the crop.
A great pen pal for decades! I could go on for days.
2-3 versions of the old site, and this place. Legend.
Chief engineer of stripper pole structural integrity quality control.
CC changed forums forever.
The Godfather of the "PJG."
I'll miss his sense of humor and many candid PMs over the years. All heart. He helped me through a Whammy.
He could beat a dead horse like nobody's business, I mean a real sharpshooter.

If you want to know how much this place meant to him, it kept him going after losing his wife. Being a Mod literally extended his life.

Now I'm sure he's up to something. Pay attention.

 

[kevm3]

Sorry to hear that. Rest in peace

 

[cristglo]

CC you will be truly missed