Jen Welter, a four time champion and 2 time gold medal winner, 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. She also coached for the Texas Revolution and has a PhD in Psychology. Now she is taking the title of the first female coach to be hired by the NFL. Welter will intern at the Arizona Cardinal's training camp, where she will coach inside linebackers.
Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians believes that
female coaches have a future in the NFL, according to a story on the team's
official website. “The minute they can prove they can make a player better,
they’ll be hired,” Arians said. He
doesn't believe that gender would impede on a coaches ability to develop
effective relationships with players, saying "If you can make me better, I
don’t care if you’re the Green Hornet, man. I’ll listen." He
continued, "I really believe she’ll
have a great opportunity with this internship through training camp to open
some doors for her.”
Football has often been referred to as the final
frontier for women in sports, so the fact that the Cardinals have brought on a
female to coach shows some serious progress.
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