Future of Female Coaches in the NFL: How A Community of ‘Like-Minded Women’ Can Revolutionise the Sport

The 2024 NFL coaching cycle left us with a couple of interesting takeaways. From a diverse cross-section of head coaches to candidates not making it to the top, this head coaching cycle arguably stood out as the most loaded and experienced reality. As the discussion wraps around what NFL analysts term as “hot commodities” heading into the off-season, one would require a time-travel on the NFL’s established pipelines for female coaches in the league.

Taking lessons from history, Roger Goodell’s diverse league has seen an influx of women in football positions. Talk of efforts – these passionate women-at-work have developed a solid Support Group as they stand in solidarity. Courtesy of the Rooney Rule, the league touted 10 full-time female assistant coaches (10) as its most-ever.

Again, the catch lies in the defined on-field roles, which haven’t grown significantly since 2015. A valid point of discussion would now be whether the league will see a rise in the number of female coaches moving forward.

CBS Sports’ run down on 2024 NFL coaching hires reflects male candidates filled about 28 OC and DC vacancies across 32 teams. Besides this, the 2024 NFL head coaching cycle is complete, and male candidates filled eight vacancies this offseason. The Seattle Times reported in 2022 that “223 women are working in full-time coaching or football operations roles” in the NFL, a “modest jump from 199 last year but a 141% gain since 2020.” But there have been no hirings between 2023-2024.

Sam Rapoport, NFL executive vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion admitted in an October interview with USA Sports that gender equity in the coaching realm paces behind achievements women have made in other departments. “Roughly 70 women are employed in scouting roles of the 233 women (including coaches) who work in football operations,” he pointed out. Rapoport admitted, “Without question, it’s the hardest nut to crack.”

The stories reflecting ‘signs of change’ may be limited, but hires like Jen Welter (first female coaching intern for Arizona Cardinals), Jennifer King (assistant running backs coach for Washington Commanders), Lori Locust (defensive quality control, Tennessee Titans) and Katie Sowers (first openly gay and first female coach in Super Bowl history) leave a wave of inspiration for many female NFL schoolers for whom scouting and assistant coaching jobs have typically been the entry point into the big league.

“More for her will mean less for me”: The ideology of change in Abby Wambach’s speech

Scott Pioli’s interview might sound controversial to many, but the former general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs made a point. In a phone interview, he cited a speech from the soccer player Abby Wambach, “There’s only so much opportunity, and people in power and control will say, ‘Ok, more for her will mean less for me.” The NFL Network analyst reiterated the most fascinating question he often hears, “I want my son to get a training camp internship, I want my son to be a ball boy. But what about your daughter?”

Let’s talk about an untouched anecdote. The hype surrounding the ‘Taylor Swift Effect’ is a much-talked-about subject. But here lies an opportunity. Besides generating $331.5 million in brand value for the Chiefs and NFL, Swift had a huge impact on female viewership in the year’s Super Bowl. Joe Pompliano reported that female viewership shot up by +11% for ages  12-17 and +24% for ages 18-24. Women represented a 47.5% audience for this year’s Super Bowl – a new all-time high. This growing interest somewhat hints at high-priority hiring for female coaches.

As of today, the Support Groups (Group text through WhatsApp messaging) alongside the NFL’s constant efforts have continued to elevate what the female scouts like to call a “Community out there of other like-minded women.” But the answer to the question. ‘What’s the Next Step?’ lies in the present-day numbers.

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One can agree that the league’s schemes come and go in cycles and finding an “X’s and O’s savant can be great.” But it’s not the most important thing. Leadership is the keyword here and if you look closely, the NFL’s expanded Rooney Rule can use a wider implementation to live up to its aim of developing a “deep, sustainable talent pool” and “promoting diverse leadership” among NFL clubs.

Not only this, but the league indeed has the potential to once again write the 2021 script where two full-time female coaches became NFL’s Firsts – guiding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl. There is a heap of talent out there as these women continue to live their passion for the game. Are the revered analysts talking about this yet?

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