The Chicago Bears have reportedly made history by hiring their first female assistant coach from Washington Commanders.
CBS Sports reported that the Chicago Bears have hired their first female assistant coach, breaking another barrier in the NFL after having appointed their first female scout in 2021.
Jennifer King, a former assistant with the Washington Commanders, has been selected as the assistant running backs coach for the Bears, working alongside new running backs coach Chad Morton. This marks King as the first black woman to hold a full-time coaching position in the NFL. She previously joined the Commanders’ staff in 2021 but was part of the coaching staff released after last season.
King’s journey in professional coaching includes stints with the Carolina Panthers in 2018 as a wide receivers intern coach and in 2019 as an intern running backs assistant. She also served as an intern coach for Washington in 2020 before securing a full-time role as an assistant running backs coach.
Her coaching career began in 2018 with the Arizona Hotshots in the Alliance of American Football, where she worked as an assistant wide receivers and special teams coach. King, a Guilford College alumna with a background in basketball and softball, gained football experience playing in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) from 2006 to 2019, holding various positions such as quarterback, wide receiver, and safety for teams like the Carolina Phoenix, New York Sharks, and Washington DC Divas.
This move follows the Bears’ trend of fostering inclusivity, as in 2021, they hired Ashton Washington as their first full-time female scout, who continues to be part of the team’s staff.
