Cardinals Hire First Female Coach in NFL History

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Dr. Jen Welter will begin a new era in the NFL this season as she will become the first female coach in NFL history as a member of the Arizona Cardinals organization. Welter will be a training camp and preseason intern and will coach the inside line linebackers for the Cardinals.

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Welter played 14 years of professional football in the Women’s Football Alliance and also played rugby at Boston College. Since then she became the first female to play a non-kicking position in a men’s pro football league when she was a running back and participated on the special teams unit for the Texas Revolution.

Welter has a master’s degree in sport psychology and also a PhD in psychology.

AZCardinals.com talked to Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians about the hiring to his staff in which Arians responded by saying…

"“She came for an OTA and I met her, and I thought she was the type of person that could handle this in a very positive way for women and open that door… Coaching is nothing more than teaching. 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.”"

We just saw Becky Hammon lead the San Antonio Spurs Summer League team to a Summer League championship and this is just a step in the right direction to diversify the sporting world at its highest level.