In the series pilot, Wood Newton, a former NFL football player and the head coach of the local high school football team, has to deal with his team's losing streak and the possible pregnancy of his wife.
After a boozy evening, Wood passes out on the coffee table, giving Will a chance to shave off half his mustache. Meanwhile, Ava gets a visit from her old high school boyfriend Kyle Hampton.
Wood donates "a weekend with Wood Newton" to Harlan's charity. Being the high bidder, Herman Stiles wins the prize and drives Wood's entire family nuts.
Right before a game with arch-rival Piggot High School, Wood's entire offensive line fails an algebra test and has to cram for a makeup test or else they will be barred from playing.
When Ava's new job as a prosecuting attorney keeps her away from home, Wood takes on extra domestic chores and resents it so much that he packs up and moves in with Ponder Blue. Meanwhile, Herman joins a mail-order hair club.
When a Hollywood film crew arrives in town to shoot a Civil War mini-series, the townsfolk flock to play extras. Wood is cast as a Confederate colonel. The shoot is beset with problems, including temperamental actress Shelly Darling.
Everyone is dealing with issues at Christmastime. Wood is so tired of his children's materialism that he donates all of their gifts to a hard-luck family in the neighborhood.
Wood and Ava are spending a lot of time with Gil and Madeline Hall, but the Halls' increasingly frequent sexual banter is making Wood and Ava nervous enough to reevaluate the friendship.
Wood's visiting high school friends tell incriminating stories about him to Ava and Evan. And Wood's former fiancée Rebecca Kincaid is back in town and still carrying a torch for him.
In a flashback, the Newton family helps Ava runs for district attorney against an obnoxious opponent, and Harlan is convinced that a win for Ava would have negative effects on her marriage to Wood.
John Madden is sought to emcee an annual sports banquet, while Wood comes to regret asking Herman to film a documentary on the Newton family life for the Newtons' unborn baby to see.
