Tuesday (Jan. 19) Jennifer King made history as the first black woman to be made the assistant running backs coach of the NFL's Washington football team. While she was informed by acting coach Ron Rivera of this move before before the team's 2020 run ended, it was not announced until the 26th of January this year, in a statement made by the team.
King has been working as an intern for both the Carolina Panthers and the Washington State team for the past three seasons. Ron Rivera, who King had interned and assisted previously, sang praises of King, saying "she is a hard worker, a great communicator, and a quality person. Coach King is always eager learn and has shown tremendous growth since starting here last season." he said in his statement.
King explained in an interview with John Kiem of ESPN how much the promotion and opportunity meant to her. "It's really important right now to be a good representative, what I didn't have growing up. I didn't have anyone that looked anything like me working. To be able to see that, I think, is big. It's super cool to be a part of this"
Later that day she took to twitter to express her gratitude for her position.
Earlier this month, King also made history alongside the Tampa Bays Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach, Lori Locust, and conditioning coach, Maral Javadifar, as the first female coaches to face off with each other during a playoff game.
King is staying focused on her short term goals, telling ESPN that "Coach always tells us to be where are our feet are and that's kind of where I am right now, just focusing on how we can have a better season."