Thanks to the work of Sam Rapoport (NFL’s Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and the growing number of trailblazing female coaches in the NFL, this season saw a record 12 female coaches for NFL Training Camps, with 6 coaches (as per this article date), continuing for the full season.
Since 2015, we have seen a number of women take up positions within the league and set the sporting world alight with some incredible achievements, all the way up to the Super Bowl. In 2020 Coach Katie Sowers was the first female coach to coach in a Super Bowl and in 2021 Coaches Lori Locust and Maral Javadifer become the first female coaches to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Women are now hired in the league in almost every position, of course with exception to the GM or Head Coach roles, (When will we see a female Head Coach in the NFL? And who will it be? Let us know in the comment section below!) with 38.2% of league office roles taken by women.
Thanks to the Women’s Careers Football Forum, the brainchild of Sam Rapoport, in 2021 alone, 44 women who previously participated in the WCFF program have landed a football operations role at the professional or collegiate level, the highest number ever for the WCFF program in a single year, according to the NFL.
Below is a chart of the progress of the hiring of female coaches in the NFL, as collated by TIDE. For the Full Report CLICK HERE
Speaking to CBNC in August 2021, Sam Rapoport said: “You know, the face of the NFL is changing and the look of the NFL is changing, and there’s no question that there is no slowing down this train. Progress will continue.”
The 12 Female Coaches at NFL Training Camps:
Full Time Positions:
Callie Brownson – Cleveland Browns
Jennifer King – Washington Football Club
Lori Locust – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Maral Javadifer – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Emily Zahler – Denver Bronco’s
Sophia Lewin – Buffalo Bills
Katie Sowers – Kansas City Chiefs
Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship– These fellows usually work with teams through the summer’s preseason training, but there’s a potential to be hired afterward
Jada Gipson – Cleveland Browns
Alex Hanna – Cleveland Browns
Tessa Grossman – Cincinnati Bengals as well as the Atlanta Falcons
Angellica Grayson – Washington Football Team
Heather Marini – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
