22 February 2024 , 02:00
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Jennifer King, a trailblazing female NFL coach, is set to join the Chicago Bears as an offensive assistant after leaving the Washington Commanders.
King, who's 39, has spent the last three seasons as an assistant running backs coach in Washington, working under head coach Ron Rivera. She started her coaching journey in 2018 after meeting Rivera at the NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum and becoming a wide receivers coach intern on his Carolina Panthers coaching team.
After that, she landed her first full-time role as an assistant wide receivers and special teams coach with the Alliance of American Football's Arizona Hotspots. But this only lasted for five months before the minor league folded. A month later, King rejoined the Panthers as a running backs coach intern.
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She also worked as an offensive assistant at Dartmouth that season. Then, when Carolina let go of Rivera, she followed him to Washington, again as a coaching intern, before being promoted to a full-time coach - making history as the first black woman to do so in the league.
According to NFL Network, she'll be working with the running backs again. This news comes just ten days after she spoke about her future on Radio Row at Super Bowl LVIII.
"I've already been out of the office for a couple of weeks before the transition (from Washington), and I'm ready to get to work," she shared with 'GALvanize.' "I'm tired of not doing anything already, so I'm excited for the future, absolutely, and what's going to come next.
King went on to say: "It's kind of my first time in this position (between coaching jobs), but it's exciting, and people keep checking on me, asking: 'Am I OK?' And I'm just like, 'yeah, I'm fine,' it's not a thing.'"
Jennifer King became the first black woman working in the NFL as a full-time coach with Washington (No credit)"But I've always been that way. I think a lot of people worry about me more than I worry about myself because I know it'll all work out, and I don't have that level of concern. And if all goes wrong, I can go back to basketball! That's what I always tell people!"
"But I'm confident I can find another opportunity in the NFL, and I'm excited for what's next." King played basketball - and softball - at Guilford for five years.
After finishing her degree in sports management, she became an assistant coach at Greensboro. After ten years as an assistant - during which time she also earned a Master of Science in sports administration at Liberty - Johnson and Wales hired her as their women's basketball head coach.
She enjoyed two seasons there, bagging the USCAA Division II national championship in her last year before chasing a football career. King played in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA) while also coaching, spending 12 seasons as a quarterback and wide receiver for the Carolina Phoenix.
In 2018, she played defensive back and receiver for the New York Sharks, winning the WFA Division II Championship, and then as a safety for the D.C. Divas the next year. This experience laid the foundation for her ongoing NFL career.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
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