Niners have first female coach in Super Bowl

[The Spin Meister]

She is an offensive assistant coach;

Sowers played in the Women's Football Alliance and for USA Football's national team, including her best game ever where she intercepted five passes at safety against Germany. Injuries such as a separated shoulder and a torn labrum ended her playing career, leading her to Kansas City, where she earned a master's degree at Central Missouri.


“I knew that I had a long road ahead of me if I wanted to be an NFL coach because I didn't have the opportunity to play on a college team,” Sowers said. “I didn't have the opportunity to break down film like a lot of these (coaches). ... I didn't have the opportunity to network like a lot of people did. But I was up for the challenge, so I bought every book I could and started doing it myself."

She is also gay;

Simply attending a Super Bowl was Sowers' dream growing up in Hesston, Kansa s, and playing football in the yard with her twin sister, Liz.

She might've become a basketball coach after wrapping up her college basketball career at Goshen College in Indiana. But being gay kept her from becoming a volunteer assistant there in 2009. Current Goshen President Rebecca Stoltzfus apologized to Sowers for that last week and noted those sexual orientation policies were ended in 2015.

She certainly overcame a lot to get to where she is. Good for her.

 

[LionDeNittany]

This is the first I heard of this.

They should do a commercial series about her... make a point that she isnt just the token female.

LdN

 

[diontechristmas]

Please nobody throw a flag.

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Love her. Go get um girl.

 

[jmorovich]

Super Bowl?? Big deal...could she handle coaching Central High and the antics of Trumaine like Coach Molly McGrath?? I HIGHLY doubt it!

 

[The Spin Meister]

Please nobody throw a flag.

 

[psuro]

Good.

If she can coach then she can coach.

 

[Nitwit]

San Francisco is different city.

 

[nittany119]

But could she handle the abuse from this board after a couple of bad plays?

I’m guessing she doesn’t qualify for a Be Right Back moment?

 

[PennStateNate]

She will be the scapegoat.

 

[NittPicker]

She is also gay

Wouldn't have guessed that in a million years.......

 

[MtNittany]

Dick Vermeil doesn't count?

 

[sluggo72]

She is an offensive assistant coach;

Sowers played in the Women's Football Alliance and for USA Football's national team, including her best game ever where she intercepted five passes at safety against Germany. Injuries such as a separated shoulder and a torn labrum ended her playing career, leading her to Kansas City, where she earned a master's degree at Central Missouri.


“I knew that I had a long road ahead of me if I wanted to be an NFL coach because I didn't have the opportunity to play on a college team,” Sowers said. “I didn't have the opportunity to break down film like a lot of these (coaches). ... I didn't have the opportunity to network like a lot of people did. But I was up for the challenge, so I bought every book I could and started doing it myself."

She is also gay;

Simply attending a Super Bowl was Sowers' dream growing up in Hesston, Kansa s, and playing football in the yard with her twin sister, Liz.

She might've become a basketball coach after wrapping up her college basketball career at Goshen College in Indiana. But being gay kept her from becoming a volunteer assistant there in 2009. Current Goshen President Rebecca Stoltzfus apologized to Sowers for that last week and noted those sexual orientation policies were ended in 2015.

She certainly overcame a lot to get to where she is. Good for her.

to be clear she is not the only women in the NFL....

 

[Pardlion]

to be clear she is not the only women in the NFL....

Nice try, but some of them are clearly not women.

Also, this leaves out all of the cheerleaders and halftime performers. Why discriminate?

 

[The Spin Meister]

to be clear she is not the only women in the NFL....

Read the fine print.

Almost all of those are listed as 'interns' not coaches.

And the OP said 'in the Super Bowl'

 

[interrobang]

(not a criticism of the OP)

I find it amusing that in an era where equality is strived for, society continues to single out those that accomplish something previously perceived as inequality.

If society really wants equality, then this shouldn't be news.

 

[sluggo72]

Read the fine print.

Almost all of those are listed as 'interns' not coaches.

And the OP said 'in the Super Bowl'

okay how about this, yes she was the first in the Superbowl, but there are other females coaching in the NFL....

According to the team’s website, head coach Bruce Arians has appointed Maral Javadifar to assistant strength and conditioning coach, and Lori Locust to assistant defensive line coach.
Locust, who attended Temple University and played four years of women’s semi-professional football, is a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She attended Susquehanna Township High School, where she later served as an assistant coach from 2010-2018, according to the Buccaneers website.

Outside of her coaching gig at her alma mater, Locust served as an assistant coach for semi-professional Harrisburg, Pennsylvania team the Central Penn Piranha, an assistant coach for the semi-professional team the DMV Elite and an assistant coach for the Keystone Assault of the Women’s Football Alliance.

Prior to being appointed to her current role with the Buccaneers, she served as the defensive line coach for the Birmingham Iron, a professional sports team under the Alliance of American Football.

the AAF had several female coaches

 

[DaTruth Farreal]

Maybe it's the crowds that I've hung out with but I don't think that I've ever met a woman that would be qualified to coach Pee Wee football. Most of the women that I know can't really follow the game and you have to explain the most basic things about the game to them if they try.

So are we forcing women into the NFL to give the appearance of "equality" or "diversity" or are these women coaches legitimately contributing and the most qualified for their jobs? It's like if we said that we need to field all football or basketball teams with every ethnicity distributed on the roster in the same percentages representative of our population. I would rather the best no matter the gender or race perform in sports, business, etc.

I'm sorry, but I think maybe we ought to just recognize that their are some differences between genders or even ethnicities and it's OK if for example, there aren't female coaches of a male sport at the pro level. Maybe these women are extremely good at what they coach, but call me skeptical for now. Maybe it's an NFL marketing ploy to entice more female target market? I'm just not sold on it being more than a headline maker. Now call me sexist and racist for holding this opinion.

 

[manatree]

Maybe it's the crowds that I've hung out with but I don't think that I've ever met a woman that would be qualified to coach Pee Wee football. Most of the women that I know can't really follow the game and you have to explain the most basic things about the game to them if they try.

Somehow I don't think the NFL is scouting your crowd for hires.

 

[Nitwit]

Maybe it's the crowds that I've hung out with but I don't think that I've ever met a woman that would be qualified to coach Pee Wee football. Most of the women that I know can't really follow the game and you have to explain the most basic things about the game to them if they try.

So are we forcing women into the NFL to give the appearance of "equality" or "diversity" or are these women coaches legitimately contributing and the most qualified for their jobs? It's like if we said that we need to field all football or basketball teams with every ethnicity distributed on the roster in the same percentages representative of our population. I would rather the best no matter the gender or race perform in sports, business, etc.

I'm sorry, but I think maybe we ought to just recognize that their are some differences between genders or even ethnicities and it's OK if for example, there aren't female coaches of a male sport at the pro level. Maybe these women are extremely good at what they coach, but call me skeptical for now. Maybe it's an NFL marketing ploy to entice more female target market? I'm just not sold on it being more than a headline maker. Now call me sexist and racist for holding this opinion.

I know plenty of men who don’t know anything about football and I know plenty of women who know much more than most men. I think it’s way past time to just judge people based on their qualifications and quit generalizing and stereotyping. It wasn’t that long ago when there were only white quarterbacks in the league. And some people still think that only a heterosexual male can be a successful AD. If you can play you can play.

 

[nittany119]

to be clear she is not the only women in the NFL....

The one in the very top right is Amy Shumer

 

[LionDeNittany]

Maybe it's the crowds that I've hung out with but I don't think that I've ever met a woman that would be qualified to coach Pee Wee football. Most of the women that I know can't really follow the game and you have to explain the most basic things about the game to them if they try.

So are we forcing women into the NFL to give the appearance of "equality" or "diversity" or are these women coaches legitimately contributing and the most qualified for their jobs? It's like if we said that we need to field all football or basketball teams with every ethnicity distributed on the roster in the same percentages representative of our population. I would rather the best no matter the gender or race perform in sports, business, etc.

I'm sorry, but I think maybe we ought to just recognize that their are some differences between genders or even ethnicities and it's OK if for example, there aren't female coaches of a male sport at the pro level. Maybe these women are extremely good at what they coach, but call me skeptical for now. Maybe it's an NFL marketing ploy to entice more female target market? I'm just not sold on it being more than a headline maker. Now call me sexist and racist for holding this opinion.

If you watch the commercial you will see this woman has had a passion for football her entire life.

I dont think anything is forced.

I would bet she is 20x the competitor than many of her peers.

However she is the exception to the rule and thus has a commercial.

LdN

 

[Madsol]

If you watch the commercial you will see this woman has had a passion for football her entire life.

I dont think anything is forced.

I would bet she is 20x the competitor than many of her peers.

However she is the exception to the rule and thus has a commercial.

LdN

I agree. I didn't think it was forced at all. Women should be able to fully compete for positions as coaches and officials. IMHO women as players is a different animal. With very, very few exceptions, women cannot compete with men as players. The game would have to be changed to something unrecognizable to allow that to take place. If that is the direction this is going, I'm very much against it.

 

[DaTruth Farreal]

I think it’s way past time to just judge people based on their qualifications and quit generalizing and stereotyping.

This was exactly my point and we are in agreement. I think you need to judge based on qualifications and output not gender, race or other unrelated to the job characteristics.

I questioned if that is what is occurring in getting all of these women in NFL coaching jobs or if there is a push favoring women in the profession that are not as qualified as a male candidate simply to achieve "diversity" or "equality" or perhaps as a marketing ploy to gain women viewership. That is what I am not convinced of yet and in my experience, I've never met a woman qualified enough to coach football at any level. Albeit this is a limited sample. But coaching in the NFL is a huge jump from coaching Pee Wee football and I've not met a woman I could even see coaching Pee Wees. Maybe they exist but my guess is still that these female NFL coaches were hired in large part to be more "diverse" or "inclusive" rather than being more qualified than all of the male candidates.

 

[heckmans]

I know plenty of men who don’t know anything about football and I know plenty of women who know much more than most men. I think it’s way past time to just judge people based on their qualifications and quit generalizing and stereotyping. It wasn’t that long ago when there were only white quarterbacks in the league. And some people still think that only a heterosexual male can be a successful AD. If you can play you can play.

So what are you saying about Sandy?

 

[Nitwit]

I didn’t say anything about Sandy. I’m saying that all opinions should be based on performance without regard to sexual persuasion or gender.

 

[sluggo72]

This was exactly my point and we are in agreement. I think you need to judge based on qualifications and output not gender, race or other unrelated to the job characteristics.

I questioned if that is what is occurring in getting all of these women in NFL coaching jobs or if there is a push favoring women in the profession that are not as qualified as a male candidate simply to achieve "diversity" or "equality" or perhaps as a marketing ploy to gain women viewership. That is what I am not convinced of yet and in my experience, I've never met a woman qualified enough to coach football at any level. Albeit this is a limited sample. But coaching in the NFL is a huge jump from coaching Pee Wee football and I've not met a woman I could even see coaching Pee Wees. Maybe they exist but my guess is still that these female NFL coaches were hired in large part to be more "diverse" or "inclusive" rather than being more qualified than all of the male candidates.

You need to get out more. OTOH, let’s take someone like Todd Haley....

 

[Secret Asian Man]

Can she twerk?

 

[DaTruth Farreal]

You need to get out more. OTOH, let’s take someone like Todd Haley....

I knew the opinion wouldn't be popular but my sample size is no less then the average middle aged guy and more likely to be skewed towards athletic women who would make better potential candidates due to my previous career. I stand by my observation and remain skeptical of those hires being best qualified candidate.

 

[sluggo72]

I knew the opinion wouldn't be popular but my sample size is no less then the average middle aged guy and more likely to be skewed towards athletic women who would make better potential candidates due to my previous career. I stand by my observation and remain skeptical of those hires being best qualified candidate.

Washington Redskins: The team has officially announced the addition of Jennifer King as a full-year coaching intern. In that role she will work with the offensive staff, and assist with the running backs.

King will soon join Ron Rivera's offensive staff. She had previously spent time with Rivera in Charlotte as a wide receivers coaching intern with the Panthers in 2017 and throughout the past two summers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

King will become the fourth female full-time coach in the league, following the Buccaneers' assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust and assistant strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar, along with 49ers offensive assistant Katie Sowers. In addition, King follows Collette Smith as the NFL's first African American female coach, who had a coaching internship with the New York Jets.

After starting her coaching career in college basketball, King went on to play in the Women's Football Alliance and coach youth and high school football. Most recently, she was an offensive assistant at Dartmouth College and also spent time with Hines Ward in the Alliance of American Football as an assistant wide receivers coach with the Arizona Hotshots.

 

[BobPSU92]

Washington Redskins: The team has officially announced the addition of Jennifer King as a full-year coaching intern. In that role she will work with the offensive staff, and assist with the running backs.

King will soon join Ron Rivera's offensive staff. She had previously spent time with Rivera in Charlotte as a wide receivers coaching intern with the Panthers in 2017 and throughout the past two summers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

King will become the fourth female full-time coach in the league, following the Buccaneers' assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust and assistant strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar, along with 49ers offensive assistant Katie Sowers. In addition, King follows Collette Smith as the NFL's first African American female coach, who had a coaching internship with the New York Jets.

After starting her coaching career in college basketball, King went on to play in the Women's Football Alliance and coach youth and high school football. Most recently, she was an offensive assistant at Dartmouth College and also spent time with Hines Ward in the Alliance of American Football as an assistant wide receivers coach with the Arizona Hotshots.

FLAG.

Wide receivers coach with the Hotshots?

 

[sluggo72]

FLAG.

Wide receivers coach with the Hotshots?

I dont know if you'll be right back or not.....

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

She is an offensive assistant coach;

Sowers played in the Women's Football Alliance and for USA Football's national team, including her best game ever where she intercepted five passes at safety against Germany. Injuries such as a separated shoulder and a torn labrum ended her playing career, leading her to Kansas City, where she earned a master's degree at Central Missouri.


“I knew that I had a long road ahead of me if I wanted to be an NFL coach because I didn't have the opportunity to play on a college team,” Sowers said. “I didn't have the opportunity to break down film like a lot of these (coaches). ... I didn't have the opportunity to network like a lot of people did. But I was up for the challenge, so I bought every book I could and started doing it myself."

She is also gay;

Simply attending a Super Bowl was Sowers' dream growing up in Hesston, Kansa s, and playing football in the yard with her twin sister, Liz.

She might've become a basketball coach after wrapping up her college basketball career at Goshen College in Indiana. But being gay kept her from becoming a volunteer assistant there in 2009. Current Goshen President Rebecca Stoltzfus apologized to Sowers for that last week and noted those sexual orientation policies were ended in 2015.

She certainly overcame a lot to get to where she is. Good for her.

There was a part of me that wanted SF to win because of her.

I didn't really care about the SB and, all else being equal, I guess I was for Andy Reid and the Chiefs. But I'd have liked to have seen an NFL team win the SB with a woman on the coaching staff. It absolutely made me think of Wildcats. It's neat. And if the Eagles can't win it, why not a woman coach. Anything to make that otherwise dreadfully boring league a little more interesting.