Jen Welter

Jen Welter made headlines in the summer of 2015, when she became the first woman to be hired by the National Football League as a coach. Welter's appointment as an intern coach to off-season linebackers marked the first time the NFL had installed a woman in any significant coaching role. She got there by way of her love of football: a rugby player in college and a professional player in the Women's Football Alliance, Welter famously played one game in 2014 for the professional men's team the Texas Revolution. Welter then she joined their coaching staff in February of 2015. Along her path as a professional football player, she'd earned a doctorate in psychology. The Arizona Cardinals of the NFL hired her in July of 2015, an internship that was a first for the league. In 2018, Welter was hired as a defensive specialist for the Atlanta Legends (in a league that lasted just one season).