Jennifer King Becomes 1st Black Female Assistant Position Coach in NFL History

Jennifer King is shattering the glass ceiling.

On Tuesday, the Washington Football Team announced that the full-year coaching intern has been promoted to assistant running backs coach.

With this new title, King is the first Black female assistant position coach in NFL history and the second female assistant position coach in the league behind Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust.

“Coach King is well deserving of the promotion to assistant running backs coach. She came to Washington eager for the opportunity to work as a full-year coaching intern and learn from our staff,” head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement.

In an interview with ”Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts on Wednesday, King recalled the moment she learned about her promotion.

“We were in the middle of game week, so I was preparing, and Coach called me in and we had a conversation to let me know what was gonna happen,” King said. “So I was really excited about it, but in the middle of game week things are kind of hectic, so I went back to my office and just went right back to work.”

After the morning show played a congratulatory video from Billie Jean King, a legendary tennis player and an advocate for gender equality, Jennifer gave advice on how to overcome obstacles in life.

“I just think it's having that personal mantra of really trying to be so good that you can't be denied and just keep going,” she said. “There will be hardships for you, there will be struggles and difficulties, but if it's something you really want, you have to find a way to get it done.”

Prior to working with the Washington Football Team, King worked at Dartmouth College as an offensive assistant, and interned for the Carolina Panthers during the 2018 and 2019 off-seasons.

King is also an athlete herself, having served as a wide receiver for the Carolina Phoenix women's tackle football team from 2006 through 2017.