Jennifer Welter (born October 27, 1977) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach who is currently linebackers coach for the

Vegas Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL (2020), XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team beg ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. She was a defensive coaching intern for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

during their training camp and the 2015 preseason, making her the first female coaching intern in the NFL. This is her third "first" for men's football in 2014 and 2015. On February 12, 2015,

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team from ...

's Texas Revolution named Welter their linebackers and special teams coach making her the first woman to coach in a men's professional football league. A year prior, the , Welter was signed by the Revolution as a running back. This made her the second female player for a position other than kicker or placekick-holder on a men's professional football team, and the first at running back. She is not the first female to play a male dominant sport; however, she is the second woman after

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player

Hayley Wickenheiser Hayley Wickenheiser (born August 12, 1978) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, resident physician and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. She was the first woman to play full-time professional men’s hockey in a positio ...

to play a "contact" position in a male dominant sport and the first woman in football to do so. Welter was featured in

Mogul Mogul may refer to: History *Mughal Empire, or any member of its ruling dynasty Persons * Magnate ** Mogul, Secret Service codename for President Trump ** Business magnate, a prominent person in a particular industry **Media mogul, a person who ...

's #IAmAMogul campaign as part of Women's History Month in March 2016 for "changing the perception of what it means to be an NFL coach."

Prior competition

Welter is a veteran of several women's

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

and

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

football teams (including the

Dallas Diamonds The Dallas Diamonds was a women's professional American football team in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). The Diamonds were made up of 46 players and a coaching staff of 10. The Diamonds won four national championships; the first three were ...

and Dallas Dragons). She was a gold medal-winning member of Team USA at the IFAF Women's World Championship in 2010 and 2013. She played rugby in college.

Texas Revolution

Welter's first action as a Revolution

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

came during a preseason game on February 15, 2014, against the North Texas Crunch. Welter rushed for three carries for −1 yards. On February 19, the Revolution named Welter to their 2014 regular season roster. On February 12, 2015, the Revolution introduced Welter as their new linebackers and special teams coach. She is the first woman to coach in a men's professional football league.

Arizona Cardinals

On July 27, 2015, the

hired Welter as an assistant coaching intern for training camp and the preseason; as such, she is believed to be the first female coach in the NFL. Her internship with the Cardinals expired after the team's third preseason game on August 30, 2015. Her coaching style does not differ from many, according to Cardinals'

Tyrann Mathieu Tyrann Devine Mathieu (; born May 13, 1992) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU. In college he developed a reputation for causing turnovers, setting a ...

. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' added, "The biggest question coming in was would guys in the NFL respond to a woman coaching them, and the obvious answer is yes".

Atlanta Legends

On December 11, 2018, Welter was hired by the

Atlanta Legends The Atlanta Legends were a professional American football franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

of the newly-formed

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

as a defensive specialist under head coach

Brad Childress Bradley Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 19 ...

Vegas Vipers

Welter was officially hired by the

on September 13, 2022

Education

Welter graduated from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and has a master's degree in

Sport psychology Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...

and a PhD in psychology from

Capella University Capella University is a private for-profit, online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Strategic Education, Inc. and delivers most of its education online. Capella has 52 degree progr ...

Awards

In 2015, Jennifer Welter received the

Women's Entrepreneurship Day Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is a day on which the work of women entrepreneurs is observed and discussed, held every day of each year. The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with additional events being held si ...

Pioneer Award in recognition for her achievements in the sports world.

References

External links

JenWelter.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welter, Jennifer Living people 1977 births American sportswomen American football running backs Female players of American football Boston College alumni Capella University alumni Texas Revolution players Arizona Cardinals coaches Players of American football from Florida People from Vero Beach, Florida Female sports coaches Texas Revolution coaches Atlanta Legends coaches 21st-century American women Female coaches of American football