The man of many nicknames—Coach, Dragon Slayer, and all the ones he’s bestowed upon his alliance members over the years—Benjamin Wade is a true legend in the Survivor history books, but probably not for the reasons he thinks he is. He was probably most memorable after his first season not from his all-in theatrical weaponizing social gameplay, but from a story he shared with his tribe about a trip he took to the Amazon.
From there, he faced a few different metamorphoses in his Survivor journey, all leading up to his return to Survivor 50. After insisting he was never coming back to play, fans were shocked to see his name revealed on the cast list, but excited all the same as Coach always makes things interesting when he’s put in the mix.
Coach’s quick Survivor stats
Survivor Career:
- Survivor: Tocantins (5th Place)
- Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (12th Place)
- Survivor: South Pacific (2nd Place)
Total Days Played: 96 days
Total Votes Against: 10 votes
Individual Immunity Challenges Won: 2
Individual Reward Challenges Won: 0
Immunity Idols Played: 0
Advantages Played: 0
Recapping Coach's Survivor: Tocantins game
Right off the bat, Coach definitely made a big first impression with both his fellow castaways and the viewers at home. When Jeff Probst announced both tribes would be voting for someone upon arrival, Coach declared it was good to “get rid of the weak players before we even start.” A bold declaration that perfectly set up his personality and gameplay approach for the season.
Though Coach’s tribe (Timbira) won the first immunity challenge, they immediately went on a losing streak after that. But Coach had already formed a strong alliance with Tyson Apostol (his “assistant coach”) and Debbie Beebe, with the three taking control of the tribe and the vote, despite Coach majority butting heads with many of his tribemates. Brendan Synnott was leveraged against Coach as a better leader by some of the other players, which started rubbing Coach the wrong way.
But they all made it to the merge where Coach added two members from the opposing tribe, J.T. Thomas (his “wizard”) and Stephen Fishbach (his “warrior”), to his already strong alliance, keeping with Coach’s initial game philosophy of taking strong players to the end.
One night when after another castaway was medevaced, Coach decided to share a story about a time he was kidnapped in the Amazon before being rescued by a military helicopter. Even his closest allies questioned whether they could trust him after that evening, unsure if he was telling the truth or proving to be a really good liar/storyteller.
Brendan specifically was the one who spoke up the most against Coach after the story and Coach decided Brendan had sealed his fate, naming him the “Dragon” and himself the “Dragon Slayer.” He fulfilled his own prophecy on Day 24 when Brendan was voted out, causing a ripple effect of former Timbira following along with Coach’s plans once again.
But Coach’s dramatics quickly became too much for everyone, once more. After doing the “noble” thing of going to Exile Island as the last remaining eligible player who hadn’t previously been, he chose not to eat or sleep the entire time there as a test for himself. He walked up to the next immunity challenge with a cane, speaking of the tale of his time at Exile before putting on a show, ultimately losing immunity to J.T.
That night, Stephen flipped and Coach became the fifth member of the jury. At Final Tribal Council, he felt Stephen played dishonorably and gave his vote to “The Warrior,” which led to J.T.’s unanimous win.
Recapping Coach's Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains game
Starting on the Villains tribe for his antics in Survivor: Tocantins, Coach started off strong with a familiar ally in Tyson Apostol and a few early tribe immunity wins. He harbored a little crush on Jerri Manthey, which she used to keep him in line as an alliance member. But even with his few allies, most of his other tribemates didn’t take him seriously and rather saw him as camp entertainment, often making him the butt of the joke.
In his continued quest for eliminating the weakest players from the game, he indirectly caused Boston Rob Mariano to be voted out, which triggered a revenge plot from Sandra Diaz-Twine, Rob’s closest ally. She told Russell Hantz that Coach was targeting him, which lead to Coach’s elimination, becoming the 1st member of the jury.
At Final Tribal Council, Coach called Russell a “little man” and Sandra a “coattail rider,” ultimately voting for Parvati Shallow to win, but his vote was overridden by a majority who crowned Sandra the first two-time winner of Survivor.
Recapping Coach's Survivor: South Pacific game
For his third game, Coach found himself the lone returning player on a tribe that did not welcome him with open arms. But he quickly used his previous game knowledge and interesting approach to relationship building to create a majority alliance which included Brandon Hantz, the nephew of Coach’s previous adversary, Russell.
Upon the merge, Coach enlisted a young Survivor fan from the other tribe, John Cochran, who was on the outs. With this flip, Coach was able to eliminate every member of the opposing tribe until only two remained: Cochran and the other returning player of the season, Ozzy Lusth (who was still in the game thanks to Redemption Island).
With all his “enemies” gone, Coach had to make the decision of what order to start turning on his own alliance. Blindsiding Cochran, Edna Ma, Brandon, Rick Nelson, and then Ozzy who he’d made a secret pact with during the loved ones visit.
After earning a spot at Final Tribal Council, the jury commended him for playing a stronger and smarter game than he previously had, but criticized him for claiming he played by an honor code when in fact he played an incredibly deceptive game. In the end, Coach scored three votes, which earned him the title of runner-up, losing the crown of Sole Survivor to Sophie Clarke.
Survivor 50 predictions: How far will Coach go?
Coach has played three prior seasons with only one true level of gameplay in common: his unpredictability. While he preaches an “honor code” for others to abide by, he’s never technically followed one himself, mostly saying whatever he has to to get people to follow his word and doing whatever he has to get himself farther in the game.
And at least one of his fellow returning castaways, Ozzy, might have some unfinished business with him after he didn’t keep his word in the South Pacific. That alone will already land a target on his back on top of the fact that in a new era of gameplay. Plus there’s the fact that the “young bucks” that he is usually able to manipulate might be too strategic to fall for his social flattery this time around.
I could see him forming—what he believes to be—a “mentor/mentee” bond with players such as Rizo Velovic, Charlie Davis, and Kyle Fraser with all three new era players ultimately blindsiding Coach when the time comes. But I think after the success of his last season, he might be an earlier target if not on a winning tribe.
Coach Wade Survivor 50 player score
Coach is one of the true original characters in Survivor’s lore, putting him in a category all his own. And comparatively, he has impressively made it onto the jury or beyond in every season he’s competed on, which speaks to his social game. The one thing he’s yet to learn is owning the dark side of his social game.
He’s perfected the art of bringing people into the fold almost to a cult-like degree, but what’s kept him from the $1 million is learning to admit that at some point he has to go against “his honor” to play the game, which includes backstabbing those who put trust in him in order to get himself further. His inability to accept his true villain status is what’s keeping him from unlocking his real gameplay potential.
Outwit (Social Game): 9/15
Outplay (Physical Game): 7/15
Outlast (Strategic Game): 7/15
Wildcard Factor: 5/5
Total Player Score: 28/50
Will 15 years away from the game provide Coach the clarity he needs to finally realize his vision of winning it all? Survivor 50 premieres Wednesday, February 25 at 8pm ET on CBS and Paramount +!