Coy Michael Wire (born November 7, 1978) is an American television anchor and correspondent, and former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2015, he has worked for CNN as a sports anchor and correspondent, and currently is the anchor of CNN 10, a student-oriented news show.[1]

Coy Wire
refer to caption
Wire with the Bills in 2006
No. 27, 52
Position:Linebacker
Safety
Personal information
Born: (1978-11-07) November 7, 1978 (age 46)
Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Cedar Cliff (Camp Hill, Pennsylvania)
College:Stanford
NFL draft:2002 / round: 3 / pick: 97
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:253
Sacks:5.0
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:5
Pass deflections:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Wire was a linebacker and safety who played college football for Stanford. He played six seasons for the Buffalo Bills from 2002 to 2007 and two years for the Atlanta Falcons from 2008 to 2010.

With CNN, Wire's many field assignments have included on-the-ground coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the College Football Playoff Semi-Finals and National Championship games, and Super Bowl 50.

Early life

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Wire attended Rice Elementary in the South Middleton School District. Highland Elementary School, Lemoyne Middle School, and Cedar Cliff High School, all in the West Shore School District. He graduated from Cedar Cliff in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in 1997 where he set school records in both football and wrestling that have still not been broken.[citation needed] In 1995, his father, Rick, founded Dynamite Sports, a company that guides student athletes and their families through the recruiting process.

College career

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Wire graduated from Stanford University and was the first player in modern school history to lead the team in rushing one year and tackles in another.[2]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11 34 in
(1.82 m)
209 lb
(95 kg)
30 14 in
(0.77 m)
9 34 in
(0.25 m)
4.56 s 3.87 s 6.62 s 38.5 in
(0.98 m)
10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)
28 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3][4]

Buffalo Bills

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Wire was drafted in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft (97th overall) by the Buffalo Bills.[5] He started 15 games at strong safety as a rookie.[6]

Following the signing of Lawyer Milloy in 2003,[7] Wire became a full-time special teams player and was named Buffalo's Special Teams Player of the Year twice.[8] Wire was voted a team captain in 2005[9] and selected by his teammates as the Bills' Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.[8] After suffering a neck injury that required surgery to insert a titanium plate and four screws into his neck,[10] Wire was released by the Bills on February 27, 2008.[11]

Atlanta Falcons

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Wire signed with the Atlanta Falcons on July 25, 2008. He played in 47 of 48 games over three seasons[6] with the Falcons before being released on September 2, 2011. While with the Falcons, Wire was named a team captain and selected by his teammates as the franchise recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 2010.[12]

NFL statistics

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NFL career statistics
Season Tackling Fumbles Interceptions
Year Team GP GS Combined Solo Assisted Sacks FF FR PD Int Yds TD Lng
2002 BUF 16 15 96 71 25 3.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2003 BUF 16 1 28 24 4 1.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
2004 BUF 12 3 25 14 11 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2005 BUF 13 0 9 6 3 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006 BUF 16 1 23 13 10 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 BUF 7 1 4 3 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 ATL 16 4 34 28 6 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2009 ATL 16 1 17 15 2 0.0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
2010 ATL 15 0 12 8 4 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Career 127 26 248 182 66 5.0 2 4 5 0 0 0 0

Media career

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Wire served as a game analyst, studio analyst and online writer for Fox Sports[13] before joining CNN in 2015. From CNN Center, Wire anchors daily Bleacher Report 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 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 8, 2022, Wire was made anchor of seasonal news program CNN 10, replacing former host Carl Azuz. In the aftermath of this change, many students, teachers and parents were surprised and expressed dismay at the change of anchor.[14]

Personal life

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Wire was raised by his parents, Rick and Jane Wire. His mother, Jane, is a visual specialist. He has a sister, Tiffany, and his brother, Casey, is a PGA certified teaching professional.[15] Wire is of German, Irish, Dutch, and Japanese descent.[16] His mother named him after the Japanese word for "love".[17] Wire resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Claire, who owns a home design and renovation company.[18]

Wire wrote an inspirational book, Change Your Mind, which was published in 2011. He also helped develop the Nintendo Wii console.[citation needed]

Community work

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Wire has served on the board of directors at Make-A-Wish Georgia[19] and has been a keynote speaker for organizations such as the U.S. Military, UPS, and the U.S. Department of Education.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "CNN Profiles - Coy Wire - CNN Sports Anchor & Correspondent". CNN. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Player Bio: Coy Wire - GoStanford.com - Stanford University". www.gostanford.com. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  3. ^ "2002 Draft Scout Coy Wire, Stanford NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "Coy Wire, Combine Results, SS - Stanford". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "2002 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Coy Wire Player Page". NFL.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  7. ^ "Milloy Agrees to Join Buffalo". Google News. Reading Eagle, Reading, Pa. September 4, 2003. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "FOX Sports Coy Wire Bio". Fox Sports. FOX Sports Interactive Media. January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Bills LB Crowell likely out for season with broken left leg". ESPN. Associated Press. December 4, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Wyche, Steve (July 27, 2009). "Falcons' Wire working hard -- and through pain -- to keep NFL dream alive". Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  11. ^ "Coy Wire". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Thomas, Eric (March 8, 2010). "Cedar Cliff's Coy Wire wins NFL's Ed Block Courage Award". Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  13. ^ Sports, Fox. "Coy Wire". FOX Sports. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  14. ^ Weekman, Kelsey. "The Beloved Host Of CNN's Student Show Left And Everyone Freaked Out". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  15. ^ "Casey Wire Golf Academy Bio". Casey Wire Golf. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  16. ^ "Chat Wrap: Coy Wire". The Stanford Cardinal. November 14, 2001. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  17. ^ "Love on the Gridiron". Stanford Alumni. September 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  18. ^ "Team Breeden – The Reason It Works – Claire Wire – Design Professional". Breeden Group. Tom Breeden. November 16, 2014. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  19. ^ "Make-A-Wish Georgia Board of Directors". Make-A-Wish Georgia. Make-A-Wish Foundation of Georgia. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  20. ^ "About - Coy Wire". Coy Wire. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
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