Jen Welter To Become First Female Coach In NFL With Arizona Cardinals

Jen Welter To Become First Female Coach In NFL With Arizona Cardinals

Here's some interesting news. The Cardinals just signed the first female to a coaching staff within the NFL. She's still an intern, but the head coach Bruce Arians has suggested that as long as they can make a player play better, then they'll be hired. I think this is pretty cool and wish the luck to the new coach, Jen Welter. I hope she works out and can pave the way for gender equality in the coaching staffs of various sports.

The Arizona Cardinals made history Monday when they announced the team has brought on Jen Welter to intern with their coaching staff for its training camp and preseason. She is believed to be the first woman to hold a position with a NFL coaching staff.

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Monday that Welter will be working with the team's linebackers. When he was asked in March about the possibility of the league one day employing a female coach, Arians provided a succinct answer.

“The minute they can prove they can make a player better, they’ll be hired,” he said at the time.

Keep in mind, it's not like she doesn't have credentials or anything.

Welter, 37, is hardly a vanity hire. She was the first woman to be hired as a coach in a men's professional football league when she joined the Texas Revolution earlier this year, according to ESPN. Welter also took to the field herself, alongside the men, playing both running back and special teams for the Revolution in February 2014 -- the first woman to play a non-kicking position.

She also boasts her own 14-year career in professional football, primarily in the Women’s Football Alliance, as well as two gold medals playing for the U.S. in the International Federation of American Football Women’s World Championship in 2010 and 2013, the Cardinals said.

Welter additionally holds both a PhD in psychology and a Masters in sports psychology, and she played collegiate rugby for Boston College, an experience that she has said influenced how she plays football.

So please hold any political correctness or feminism rants at the door. By all accounts, she should know what she is talking about.

a reply to: Krazysh0t
It's about time.
I wish her well.

a reply to: butcherguy

I'm interested to see what a female perspective could bring to things like play development and fundamentals. Since women aren't as physically capable (is that the right word?) as men, they largely have to rely on stronger fundamentals on the field to compete. I wonder if something like that would show through in her coaching. I think I may take note of how the Cardinal linebackers tackles this year to verify this.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Maybe an emphasis on playing smarter over stronger?

a reply to: butcherguy

That would actually be a good thing too now that I think about it. Football players are getting larger and larger and faster and faster. The collisions are harder than ever. Playing smarter could do a lot to avoid unnecessary injuries and such. Might want to keep track of Arizona linebacker leading with the head penalties too..

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Yes, a lot of concussion related disease later in life for some NFL players.

The Head Coach said it perfectly.

"The minute they can make a player better, they'll be hired".

I really think this is over due. Just because they never played on that level doesn't mean they can't watch thousands of hours of game footage and come up with a strategy. They can also watch and listen to other coaches to make themselves better.

If a Nun told me a better way of throwing a deuce (curveball) I would have listened.

While direct experience always will be useful, there is no reason why a woman can't make herself a competent play caller when it comes to understanding offense/defense and how the schemes work.

I know a lot of people don't think she knows her stuff, but Condi really does know her football.

Similarly, I see no reason why this gal wouldn't either.

Good for her.

A coach doesn't need to be able to do it, just help the player do it better.

Looks like she's played more football than Belichick.

a reply to: butcherguy

Well yea, I know what the consequences of doing them are. I was more talking about Welter emphasizing to the players under her proper tackling form and all. If we see a decrease in the number of leading the head injuries in the linebackers from last year to this year, it could be a sign of her coaching smarter play.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
...

I hope she works out and can pave the way for gender equality in the coaching staffs of various sports.

...

So please hold any political correctness or feminism rants at the door. By all accounts, she should know what she is talking about.

Ummm, you prefaced the quote with a feminist, PC comment, then asked us not to interject any of ours?

The bottom line is this: Who cares about her sex. If she can prove herself, then she'll make a good coach. If she can't--well, I'm sure there will be outrage that the male-dominated NFL fired the first female coach because it's a good-ol'-boys club and didn't want a woman there.

I hope not, but these things are easy to predict.

I, too, wish her well, but in the same way I wish all first-time people entering into the NFL good wishes and success. Her sex means nothing, but she better deliver the goods for which she was hired.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

See. At the end of the day, that's all I want too. If she can't hack it, then you won't see me defending her to stay on longer than we'd demand a man stay on. Coaching jobs in the NFL are jobs with VERY high rates of turnover. Especially on non-winning teams (though that doesn't really describe the Cardinals over the last few years). So I see no reason to demand she get better treatment in a profession that even men have tough times holding onto their jobs for.

I was just trying to jump in front of any rants coming from the anti-pc crowd trying to piss all over a good thing.

This is very interesting indeed. Will be following this... . I live not far away from their stadium.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
The bottom line is this: Who cares about her sex. If she can prove herself, then she'll make a good coach. I

It's true. But when "the first" of anything happens, it's exciting. Truth is, her genitals don't matter, but her way of thinking (as a woman) may have some impact on the game.

Good luck to her!

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Keep in mind she is STILL just an intern. I wouldn't get my hopes up for large, sweeping changes to the way coaching works. Any positive impacts are going to be more nuanced and probably only show up to someone who likes to analyze stats or happens to watch TONS of football (and really likes the Cardinal's linebacking core).

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Exactly, it shouldn't be a "Big Deal", but it is a big deal, and deservingly so because she is the First, so lets Celebrate her being the first!

She'll either make it or she won't. Hopefully, the press won't make her a circus so that she's too much of a distraction.

The best thing for her and for the team is for her to have every opportunity to be just Coach Welter, no more, no less, when comes to her day-to-day interactions with the players. No one needs for her to have the added distractions thrown in. The sooner her gender is no longer an issue the better, and that will be difficult if the media chases her everywhere.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Well, I think that you've realized I'm anti-PC, but that doesn't mean that I'm anti-intelligence. It really is nice to see that a good-ol'-boy network like NFL coaching has someone who thinks like me and welcomes in whomever is right for the job--in fact, that in and of itself is anti-PC--only if he had hired her because she is a woman, would that have turned it into a PC issue.

But, meh...either way, I hope that she does well, and I agree with the few on this thread who have said that woman's perspective in the sport may prove to be quite interesting concerning strategy and the approach to coaching.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
It's true. But when "the first" of anything happens, it's exciting.

Well, I disagree with that when "the first" is based on gender or race or any of that--I really wish we'd move past that stuff as a society.

Truth is, her genitals don't matter, but her way of thinking (as a woman) may have some impact on the game.

Good luck to her!

Agreed 100% on this one.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Yea, everything just looks right about this situation. She actually has the credentials to back herself up. It's only an internship and with the linebacking staff so she can't do TOO much damage if you she turns out to not be able to hack it. So I feel good about the situation and hope the best for her. It's still going to be a rocky road, but paving the way for others always is.