Coy Michael Wire (born November 7, 1978) is an American television anchor and correspondent, and former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
player in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
. Since 2015, he has worked for
CNN as a sports anchor and correspondent. He currently is the anchor of
CNN 10
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
, succeeding Carl Azuz since September 12th, 2022.
Wire was a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
and
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly di ...
who played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
for
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
. He played six seasons for the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
from 2002 to 2007 and three years for the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...
from 2008 to 2010.
With CNN, Wire's many field assignments include on-the-ground coverage of the 2015
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bod ...
, the
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
Semi-Finals and National Championship games, and
Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...
.
Early life
Wire attended Rice Elementary in the South Middleton School District. Highland Elementary School, Lemoyne Middle School, and
Cedar Cliff High School
Cedar Cliff High School is located in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is older of the two high schools in the West Shore School District. It was formed in 1959 with the merger of West Shore High School and New Cum ...
, all in the
West Shore School District
West Shore School District, is a large, suburban, public school district with its main office located in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. This district serves students in eastern Cumberland County and northern York County. It serves the municipalitie ...
. He graduated from
Cedar Cliff in
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Camp Hill is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It is southwest of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. The population was 7,888 at the 2010 census. There are many large corporations bas ...
in 1997 where he set school records in both football and wrestling that have still not been broken. In 1995, his father, Rick, founded Dynamite Sports, a company that guides student athletes and their families through the
recruiting process.
College career
Wire graduated from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
and was the first player in modern school history to lead the team in rushing one year and tackles in another.
Professional career
Buffalo Bills
Wire was drafted in the third round of the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
(97th overall) by the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
. He started 15 games at
strong safety
Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their du ...
as a
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
.
Following the signing of
Lawyer Milloy in 2003, Wire became a full-time
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
player and was named Buffalo's Special Teams Player of the Year twice.
Wire was voted a
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
in 2005 and selected by his teammates as the Bills'
Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.
After suffering a neck injury in 2008 that required surgery to insert a titanium plate and four screws into his neck, Wire was released by the Bills.
Atlanta Falcons
Wire signed with the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...
on July 25, 2008. He played in 47 of 48 games over three seasons
with the Falcons before being released on September 2, 2011. While with the Falcons, Wire was named a
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
and selected by his teammates as the franchise recipient of the
Ed Block Courage Award in 2010.
NFL statistics
Media career
Wire served as a game analyst, studio analyst and online writer for
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
before joining CNN in 2015. From
CNN Center
The CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is the international headquarters of the Cable News Network ( CNN). The main newsrooms and studios for several of CNN's news channels are located in the building. The facility's commercial office space is occ ...
, Wire anchors daily
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London.
Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in ...
segments, covers events and serves as an expert contributor across all platforms. He appears regularly on CNN programs ''Early Start'', ''New Day'' and ''CNN Newsroom'', in addition to
HLN programs ''Morning Express'' with
Robin Meade
Robin Michelle Meade (born April 21, 1969) is a former American television news correspondent. She was the lead news anchor for HLN's morning show ''Morning Express with Robin Meade''. Meade was a former Miss Ohio and began her broadcasting care ...
and ''Weekend Express'' with
Lynn Smith. He also contributes to CNN International's World Sport program and to CNN Digital on a broad range of crossover sports stories.
In 2019, Wire worked as a special assignment travel correspondent for CNN.
On September 11, 2022, Wire recorded the first 2022 episode of CNN 10. He was the anchor, replacing Carl Azuz. In the aftermath of this change, many students, teachers and parents were surprised and expressed dismay at the change of anchor.
Personal life
Wire was raised by his parents, Rick and Jane Wire. His mother, Jane, is a
software analyst
In a software development team, a software analyst is the person who monitors the software development process, performs configuration management, identifies safety, performance, and compliance issues, and prepares software requirements and ...
. He has a sister, Tiffany, and his brother, Casey, is a
PGA certified teaching professional. Wire is of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Irish,
Dutch, and
Japanese descent.
His mother named him after the Japanese word for "love".
Wire resides in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, Georgia, with his wife, Claire, who owns a home design and renovation company.
Wire wrote an inspirational book, ''Change Your Mind'', which was published in 2012.
Community work
Wire has served on the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...
at
Make-A-Wish Georgia and has been a
keynote speaker
A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework f ...
for organizations such as the
U.S. Military,
UPS, and the
U.S. Department of Education.
References
External links
Stanford Cardinal bioWireWire.comOn the Fringe: Wire Wire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wire, Coy
1978 births
Living people
People from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
American football safeties
American football linebackers
Stanford Cardinal football players
Buffalo Bills players
Atlanta Falcons players
Players of American football from Pennsylvania
American sportspeople of Japanese descent
American football running backs
Ed Block Courage Award recipients