Black women continue to make history this week as they do every week. Jennifer King has broken barriers by becoming the first Black woman to coach full-time in the National Football League. King will continue working with the Washington Football Team as an offensive team. Prior to her promotion, King worked as an intern with Washington Football Team Running Backs Coach Randy Jordan. Under the coaching of Jordan and King, rookie running back Antonio Gibson had a breakout year with nearly 800 yards and 11 touchdowns. J.D. McKissic also contributed with 589 yards receiving and 365 yards rushing. This season, the Washington Football team finished with a 7-9 record and their first playoff appearance since 2015.
King is no stranger to the NFL or Washington Football Team Head Coach Ron Rivera. She attended the league's coaching clinics from 2015 through 2018. In 2018, she participated in the NFL Women's Career in Football Forum. From there, she worked as an intern with Rivera during his final two seasons as the Carolina Panthers head coach. From there, she worked as a receivers coach for the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football. Not to mention, she had a thirteen-year career of her own, playing for the D.C. Divas, New York Sharks and Carolina Phoenix.
The Washington Football Team ends the year making history after starting the season with a groundbreaking move. At the start of the season, the team hired Jason Wright as its president. He is the first Black man to serve in this position. More recently, the team hired Martin Mayhew as its general manager. He is one of only four Black general managers in the NFL.
“Martin is a proven general manager who will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization,” Rivera said.
“He will be an integral part of running the daily football operations and will allow me the opportunity to focus more on coaching. He impressed both myself and Mr. Snyder during the interview process and we both believe he will be a tremendous fit here. He is a man of high character and integrity and was part of the rich history and tradition of this great franchise as a member of the Super Bowl championship team in 1991.”
After a tumultuous off-season in 2020, it appears the Washington Football Team will start the season as the first franchise in league history with a Black president, Black general manager and a full-time Black female coach.