Ted Lasso: The Main Characters, Ranked By Intelligence

The comedy series Ted Lasso is filled with lovable and hilarious characters, all of whom help make it such a fun show. It is also good at switching the audience’s expectations of certain characters as the series goes on. While some characters might seem like cliches at first, they eventually show more layers over time.

This is especially interesting when considering the intelligence of the main characters on the show. Certain characters lack special kinds of knowledge, but that does not necessarily make them unintelligent. They can show how smart they are in other ways which is great to see and makes for some really fun characters.

10 Jamie

Jamie Tartt is the young hotshot of the Richmond team who shows incredible skill and awareness when playing soccer. Unfortunately, those are about the only positive things Jamie has going for him, and once he is off the soccer field he is a pretty dim-witted guy.

The problem with Jamie is that his skills as a soccer player blind him to everything else. He is so arrogant about his athletic achievements that he doesn’t think he needs to know anything else and is a pretty big himbo. This leads him to be easily confused and outsmarted.

9 Dani

Dani Rojos is another very talented player who joins the team late. However, unlike Jamie, Dani’s skills make him a better person, as he is extremely passionate about soccer, constantly saying “Football is life.” But Dani seems to take that motto to heart as he doesn’t really focus on anything except the sport.

Dani never says or does anything that seems unintelligent, but he certainly is obvious. He is so wrapped up in his love of soccer that he fails to notice what is going on around him. When Jamie is trying to prove he’s better than Dani, Dani thinks they are just playing a fun game. He’s like a big, excited puppy dog.

8 Higgins

Higgins is someone who is probably more intelligent than he lets on, however, he is rarely given the opportunity to think for himself. As the director of the soccer operations, he serves under Rebecca and is constantly disrespected by her, which he takes without complaint.

While it might not be entirely fair, Higgins’ sycophant personality just doesn’t make him seem like a very intelligent person. He does eventually stand up for himself, but he is still someone whose good ideas come very infrequently.

7 Rupert

Rebecca’s ex-husband Rupert was the former owner of the Richmond team, and he was forced to give it to her in the divorce. Losing his beloved soccer team turned him into a vengeful villain who tries to wield his power to get back at her and regain his team.

But while Rupert has a lot of money and influence, he is too used to getting what he wants, which leads him underestimating people. He looks down on both Ted and Rebecca, which makes it all the more satisfying each time they managed to outsmart him.

6 Nathan

Nathan, or “Nate the Great”, begins the show as the shy and disrespected kit-man for the team. Like Higgins, Nathan is not one to speak up for himself, so it was hard to say how intelligent he was. However, Ted saw something in Nathan and encouraged him to speak up more.

As it turns out, Nathan knew a lot about soccer and had some good ideas to share with the team. His shy demeanor made him a little childish at times, but he proved himself enough to be named as an assistant coach for the team.

5 Roy

Roy Kent is the captain of the Richmond team and a player who is past his prime. He is a very intimidating man at times, and his anger sometimes clouds his better judgment. But while he can be irrational sometimes, he also has a lot of self-awareness, which is certainly a sign of intelligence.

Roy might be angry, but he is willing to admit his fault. This leads to him being a supporter of Ted, as he sees him as a positive influence that the team and Roy himself need to succeed.

4 Ted

When Ted is first introduced in the show, he seems like a bit of a doofus who is in way over his head. That initial reaction is pretty fair, as Ted knows very little about the sport of soccer which he has been hired to coach. But despite some clear ignorance, Ted’s people seem to mistake Ted’s friendliness for simpleness.

In fact, it is Ted’s penchant for being nice to everyone he meets that shows how intelligent he is. When he takes over the team, he gets no respect from the players. But he finds ways to win them over, motivate them and bring them together through positivity.

3 Keeley

Keeley is another character who is easy to dismiss as unintelligent when she is first introduced. She is a bubbly model who is dating Jamie, the dumbest guy on the team, so it doesn’t say much for her own intelligence.

Keeley is quick to prove everyone wrong by being a very smart person in a very unexpected way. In regular conversation, Keeley might not seem clever or witty, but as she becomes the voice of reason for multiple characters on the show, Keeley shows how grounded and rational her advice is.

2 Rebecca

Rebecca is the owner of the team and the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Following her humiliating divorce from Rupert, she wants revenge on him by driving his beloved Richmond team into the ground by hiring Ted Lasso as its new coach.

While her plan might be a bit mean, it’s hard to deny that it is quite genius. Nothing would make Rupert angrier than seeing an American coaching his soccer team. However, Rebecca is also smart enough to eventually see the errors of her ways and supports Ted going forward.

1 Coach Beard

Coach Beard is the assistant coach of the team and is very happy to serve under Ted. If it were not for that fact, Coach Beard would have made a pretty solid choice for the head coach position.  While Coach Beard worked with Ted as an American football coach, he managed to learn enough about soccer that he can offer advice to Ted when needed.

Coach Beard is also smart enough to see the value in Ted’s positive reinforcement approach to the game, but he can also be that voice of reason, reminding Ted that winning is important as well. He is the strong silent type who has a lot going on in his mind.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2027 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

More From Colin McCormick