00:00You were back there chilling, like you weren't as important as you are.
00:05Jennifer King became the first black female in NFL history to serve as a primary position coach
00:10in 2021 with the now Washington Commanders. She first was hired by Washington in 2022 as an
00:16offensive intern, and she spent the past three seasons as an assistant running backs coach.
00:21I recently caught up with her at the sports power brunch purple carpet in Las Vegas. At the time,
00:26I didn't know at least that she'd go from that carpet to then becoming the first female coach
00:31in franchise history, working as an offensive assistant with running backs for the Chicago
00:36Bears. Here's a look at our conversation. For those who don't know who you are and what you do,
00:41because you were walking around here like just a regular person. Please, please explain to these
00:46people. I'm Jennifer King. I'm the first black female assistant coach in the league. So it's
00:50been a special journey for me. It's interesting how calm you are. I've talked to a lot of trailblazers
00:56so far the last couple of days, and there's a level of calmness and composure they have about
01:00saying that they're trailblazers, as you are yourself. Did you feel the pressure, the weight
01:07of what you're doing as you went into it, or did you kind of just seamlessly come into this space?
01:13I mean, I think I fit right into that mold. I never expected this. You know, I just I love
01:18football. I love coaching and was able to marry those two things together. So I had a great
01:22opportunity and I took it. I'm sure one day, you know, when I'm old and gray, I can sit back and,
01:26you know, really be excited for what I've done. But for right now, just taking it a day at a time
01:30trying to coach. As a black woman in the NFL on the coaching side, how valuable is your experience
01:39as a black woman in this world to how you coach? I mean, I think, you know, you got to be tough,
01:45you know, to make it. And growing up with that mindset, you got to be twice as good as everybody.
01:48I think it's helped me excel just because, you know, I try to make sure my work is excellent
01:52in everything that I do, just because I always grew up feeling like I had to be that way. So
01:56obviously, I appreciate my parents for laying that base for me. But I think working hard has
02:00allowed me to get here. What was your, if you don't mind, what was your journey like in the
02:04sport of football as you were coming through the ranks? It's kind of been all over the place.
02:07You know, I started in college basketball. So I was a college basketball coach for nine years,
02:11head coach for two and a half. And then I got into football with the Carolina Panthers as an intern.
02:15So I interned there twice and had a stop at Dartmouth for the 2019 season was in the AAF
02:20out in Arizona with coach Rick Neuheisel. And then in DC, just finished up my fourth season.
02:25So it's been all over the place. I've done a lot of things in between that,
02:28but that's kind of how I got here.
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