Cardinals hire first female assistant coach

[A55VA6]

The Arizona Cardinals made history Monday, announcing the hiring Jen Welter of the Indoor Football League as the NFL's first woman to hold a coaching position.

A former collegiate rugby player who played 14 seasons of pro football -- mostly in the Women's Football Alliance -- Welter was brought in by Bruce Arians as a training camp/preseason intern coaching inside linebackers.

"Coaching is nothing more than teaching," Arians explained Monday, via the team's official website. "One thing I have learned from players is, 'How are you going to make me better? If you can make me better, I don't care if you're the Green Hornet, man, I'll listen.' I really believe she'll have a great opportunity with this internship through training camp to open some doors for her."


View: https://twitter.com/jwelter47/status/625823727175897088


Welter played running back and special teams for the Indoor Football League's Texas Revolution in February of 2014, becoming the first female to play a non-kicking position in a men's professional football league.

In a text exchange with Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, one AFC player acknowledged, "The truth is, she has more playing experience than some of the coaches who coach me now."

Welter went on to work under Revolution general manager and 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Tim Brown, becoming the first female to coach in a men's pro football league.

It's no surprise that Arians is the first head coach to grant Welter the opportunity to break the NFL's gender barrier.

While most professional football coaches learn a conservative approach, steering clear of controversial statements or maneuvers, Arians blazed his own unique path, finding success later in life.

"That's the way everyone's brought up in this business -- to be guarded, especially if it's not your last job," Arians told NFL Media columnist Michael Silver last year. "I don't have to (be guarded) anymore."

Arians hinted at the possibility of a female coach in April.

"The minute they can prove they can make a player better," Arians said at the NFL owners meetings, "they'll be hired."

He put that statement into practice on Monday, embracing the hot-button issue of women coaching men.

Just a year after being hired as the first full-time female coach in the history of major men's American sport, San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon led the team's Las Vegas Summer League squad to the 2015 title in mid-July.

If Hammon's hiring was initially viewed as a gimmick, that's no longer the case. Her immediate success has NBA insiders and observers wondering when she will be make history as the league's first female head coach.

"Since 2000, changes have been pretty damn rapid in a lot of ways," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recently opined. "And I think people are fed up with injustice and with people not respecting other people's space and who they are. I think it's a step in the right direction."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...t-female-assistant-coach?campaign=Twitter_atn

 

[Legatron4]

(Insert derogatory comment about woman here)

 

[OldSchool]

Good for her and good for them. I still hope we beat their butts but good for them.

 

[fearsomefour]

Cool.
Congrats to her.
This almost makes me forget what a Dbag Arians is.....almost.

 

[RamzFanz]

I walked through Dick's sporting goods today... an unfortunate name... and they had Michael Sam jerseys. No Quinn or Donald. Bradford was on the 75% off rack.

Anyways, that was a tangent, good for them and good luck 14 games a season.

 

[Alan]

I like it too. It's always good to see new doors opening.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Bring Rhonda Rousey (sp?) in as a special assist.!

 

[RamFan503]

Note to Arians. She's still not going to let you with your silly little hat bang her.

Aside from that, great for her to get a chance. Too bad she is going to have to witness our boys kicking her unit's asses.

 

[RamFan503]

Bring Rhonda Rousey (sp?) in as a special assist.!

No doubt. She'd bring the attitude and work ethic - that's for sure. C'mon Fish... sign her up.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

I'm sure she's more than qualified for the job, especially with her extensive football background as a player. . . . .

 

[Dodgersrf]

Well, they do need more doctors.

 

[Corbin]

Wtf? They got kitchens at AZ TC now? :eek:

 

[den-the-coach]

It doesn't matter who's ass I kick, I enjoy nonetheless! So I'm pleased another door opens and I hope she experiences a ton of heartache each time the team she represents plays against the Rams.

 

[-X-]

There's more blue font in this thread than the old AOL chat rooms.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/Jen-Welter-Arizona-Cardinals-first-NFL-female-coach

The NFL’s First Female Coach

Bruce Arians and the Cardinals are giving Jen Welter the opportunity to work as an assistant linebackers coach during the team’s training camp, meaning the 37-year-old psychologist will become the first woman coach in league history
by Peter King

Photo via @JWelter47

First, Bruce Arians wanted to give thanks to Dot Murphy.

“She is the first woman to coach football,” Arians said Monday night, speaking of the wide receivers coach, a mother of three, at Hinds (Miss.) Community College, widely thought to be the first women’s coach in college or pro football when she coached in the nineties.

The Cardinals will announce the first woman’s NFL coach—an intern who will work in the Arizona training camp this summer—today. Jen Welter, 37, will work as an assistant coach with inside linebackers under linebackers coach Bob Sanders, alongside rookie inside linebackers coach Larry Foote, for the next six weeks. It is not a full-time job. But who knows what opportunities like this might lead to for Welter.

“I think it’s time,” Arians said from Arizona as the news tore up social media Monday night. “I am not afraid to step out and be different. Jen is a quality coach. She has earned this. I think she can help our players get better.”

Walter already has been a football trailblazer. In 2014 she played one game at running back for a professional indoor football league team, the Texas Revolution; the Cardinals said Monday night Welter was the first woman to play a non-kicking position in a pro game. This season she coached linebackers and special teams for the Revolution.

When Arians spoke positively last spring about the future of women coaching football, a Revolution staffer reached out and said if Arians was serious, he should meet Welter.

“So she came to one of our OTAs this spring,” Arians said. “I found her really passionate about football. I asked if she was serious about it, and if so, I would love to give you the opportunity to coach with us. She jumped on it. She loves to coach.”

Arians said he hoped the temporary hire of Welter would lead to other NFL teams giving more women chances to work in the NFL. And he praised the Cardinals for their efforts to promote diversity in hiring. In 2004, Arizona owner Bill Bidwill was the first owner to hire African-American men, Dennis Green and Rod Graves, as coach and general manager in tandem. Last season Arizona was the only NFL team with black coordinators on offense and defense (Harold Goodwin and Todd Bowles, respectively).

And this year the Cardinals are founding a fellowship program that gives minority coaches a two-year job on an NFL coaching staff, in the hope that it will help coaching prospects transition to the coaching lifestyle. The first coach to benefit is former NFL linebacker Levon Kirkland, who will get a two-year paid trial on Arians’ staff.

The Cardinals will announce the Bidwill fellowship appointment of Kirkland and Welter’s hire together in Arizona.

“My goal is the other teams in the league will adopt this as a policy,” Arians said of the expanded opportunities for both minority and female coaches, as more get into the game at all levels.

One of the questions Arians is sure to get today—and his players will get as camp practices start this week—is how a team of males with experience being taught by males only will react to a woman coaching them. Welter is not only a coach. She has a master’s degree in sports psychology and a Ph.D. in psychology.

“I don't think the players care, as long as they are being coached to get better,” Arians said. “With her background as a player, a coach and a psychologist, I think our players will realize she can help them. She has a ton of energy and intelligence. We’re looking forward to having her on the staff.”

Arians had one more point to make, because he knows some will look at the appointment of Welter and say, Why? Why risk the distraction that the attention of hiring a woman will bring?

That will be the common reaction. It will not be Arians’ reaction.

“This,” he said, “is not going to be a distraction. It’s going to be a benefit to our team.”

And a groundbreaking move in a country Arians is convinced is ready for it.

 

[FRO]

Sounds like she has some qualifications. I was worried it was all going to be a publicity stunt.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Shouldn't this be in the Boobs thread?

 

[Rmfnlt]

Shouldn't this be in the Boobs thread?

Doesn't appear that way.

 

[fearsomefour]

No doubt. She'd bring the attitude and work ethic - that's for sure. C'mon Fish... sign her up.

and juice.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/04/jen-welter-first-woman-nfl-coach-arizona-cardinals

‘I’m Here as a Football Coach’

After a whirlwind first few days on the job, Jen Welter reflects on what it means for be the first female coach in the history of the NFL

by Jen Welter

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

My name is Jen Welter and I am the NFL’s first female coach.

To be exact, I am a training camp and preseason intern with the Arizona Cardinals, working with inside linebackers. By now, you may know my story. I played 14 seasons of pro football, including a season of playing running back and special teams for the Texas Revolution of the (previously all-male) Indoor Football League. I also coached for the Revolution and have a PhD in psychology.

But here I am, at 37, with the opportunity of a lifetime. I am so thankful to head coach Bruce Arians, a forward-thinker who is not afraid to be different. Bruce doesn’t see race or gender, he only sees talent and passion. This hiring also speaks extremely highly of our owner, Michael Bidwill, and our general manager, Steve Keim, who supported Coach Arians in this decision and have embraced me here in Arizona.

I am so honored that people have gravitated to my story. The media support has been tremendous, and I feel blessed to have this platform available to inspire others. I’ve conducted interviews with outlets like Time Magazine, my introductory press conference was streamed on NFL Network and I won’t hesitate to press retweet if someone congratulates me on Twitter (especially if that person is Vice President Biden).

I knew when they hired me it was going to receive attention, only because that’s what happened when I played. I had no idea—well, maybe a small, microscopic idea—it would be this big. Not to this extent.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Why do I put myself out there like this? Well, football has often been referred to as the final frontier for women in sports, so for an NFL team to have brought a woman into the coaching ranks, that speaks volumes. It's an important step for girls and women to see. Being a woman is part of who I am. It's not all of who I am, and I’m not here just because I'm a woman. I'm here as a football coach.

If my opportunity in the NFL is a chance to show other women what’s possible in this world, and to show guys that there is another dimension to a lot of women—that this game that they love can be loved and respected by a woman—why wouldn’t I highlight that? At the same time, my most important obligation right now is helping Coach Arians and this team.

Let’s not ignore the fact that I am different than the tens of thousands of coaches who have worked in the NFL. And that’s O.K. It just means I bring a different perspective. Here’s how: Think of NFL rosters. How many of these guys grew up and their mom was their whole world? How many grew up being raised by a single mother? How many of them have heard their mom say, I don’t care how much money you make, you better go do your job and do the right thing?

So many of these guys have learned from women. When I instruct players—and I saw this at my last job—it feels comfortable for them. My approach may take away a little bit of that head-to-head male competition. I want to help guys realize football is as mental as it is physical, and that I’m invested in their future. When guys know they are cared about as a person, and not just a player or a commodity, they will absolutely play harder.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

My position with the Cardinals is all about balancing learning and teaching. The playbook is several inches thick, so I have a lot of studying to do. I really wish I had photographic memory.

I’m lucky to have wonderfully supportive coaches around me, especially Larry Foote, who is my mentor. Larry has played this playbook, he knows it inside and out. The best thing I can do is reinforce what Foote wants our linebackers to accomplish, and what defensive coordinator James Bettcher wants our defense to look like. I am focusing on attention to detail and technique with individual players, and the players have been very receptive.

To see tweets from Kevin Minter and Patrick Peterson welcoming me just as “coach” felt profound. Those guys are leaders on the Cardinals, and for them to make feel comfortable, with no qualifiers or this or that, meant the world.

Other outpouring of support simply overwhelmed me. Madeleine Albright knows who I am, that I exist on this planet? Hillary Clinton? That's a woman who has come so far in politics. She could be our next president. And she’s excited about what I’m doing in football? If you want to know what the NFL means in American culture, look no further. This, to me, shows progress.

Photo by Matt York/AP

I’m not the only woman making headlines lately in male-dominated sports. Look at Becky Hammon, who coached the Spurs to a summer league title. Look atRonda Rousey, the top-billed fighter in UFC, and at one point they didn’t even want her to fight. Look at the love people showed for Mo’ne Davis when she played with the boys.

This week, Nancy Lieberman became an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings. A mutual friend introduced Nancy and me at a UFC event a few years ago—we bonded over being from Dallas, Twizzlers and our love of competition—and have been friends ever since. When Nancy called to congratulate me on my hiring, she said she was proud of me. All I could think was, “That’s crazy. None of this would be possible without women like you.”

Perhaps the coolest thing to happen is this: friends from women’s football have called me up saying, “I just got to do an interview with ESPN because of you.”

I won four championships and two gold medals and I was never asked to go on ESPN. None of us were.

My opportunity could create other opportunities, and I love everything about that.