THE ARIZONA CARDINALS have appointed Jen Welter as their inside linebackers coach for pre-season, making her the first female coach in NFL history.
Welter had already broken into the coaching ranks of a men’s team in February when assuming the role of linebackers and special-teams coach at the Texas Revolution — a professional indoor American football team — and has now taken the plunge in the NFL.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said his reason for hiring Welter was simple.
“Coaching is nothing more than teaching,” Arians said, according to the Cardinals’ 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.”
The NFL has been one leader in professional sports ranks to welcome women into a male-dominated space, with Sarah Thomas hired as the first full-time female official in April.
Welter is Welter a one-time collegiate rugby player who played 14 seasons of pro-football, mostly in the Women’s Football Alliance.
