Jennifer King (L), coaching intern of the Carolina Panthers, talks to the team's running back Elijah Holyfield (R) during practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina, July 29, 2019. /AP Photo
Jennifer King, who worked as an intern for the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 preseason, is likely to be hired by the Washington Redskins as the first full-time black female assistant coach in the NFL history, according to Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic.
Last December, the Redskins appointed Ron Rivera as their new head coach. During King's time in the Panthers, Rivera was also that team's coach. After King left the Panthers, she worked as an assistant wide receivers coach for the now-defunct Alliance of American Football's Arizona Hotshots and as an offensive assistant for Dartmouth College.
Before King joined the NFL, she coached several high school teams and before that, she played in the semi-pro Women's Football Alliance and won three titles.
In 2016, Rivera met King for the first time at an NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum. In 2018, he told ESPN that he believes there will be female coordinator or even female coach working in the league one day.
Ron Rivera, head coach of the Washington Redskins attends a press coference at the team's NFL football training facility, in Ashburn, Virginia, January 2, 2020. /AP Photo
"Part of it, it's all about the fan base. It's also knowing the moms out there that understand the game. It's important because they really do control as to whether their kids are going to play. This is something that has to be developed. It helps us in a lot of ways. It also shows everybody deserves an opportunity," said Rivera to ESPN.
Last year, Rivera attended a Women's Careers in Football Forum where he called female coaches "an untapped source." "There's a lot of forward thinkers in this room. We're in a production-based business. It's all about winning, and we've got to create that opportunity to win. It doesn't matter who you are – if you bring something special to the table and help us, we most certainly want you," said Rivera.
Currently there are only three full-time female coaches in the league. Assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust and assistant strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as offensive assistant Katie Sowers of the San Francisco 49ers.
The Redskins finished the 2019 regular season with a disappointing 3-13 record. What makes things worse is that the team do not have great salary space for either improvement or reconstruction.