Arizona Cardinals hire Jen Welter as the first female coach in NFL history

'Ladies, anything is possible'

(Jen Welter/Twitter)

The Arizona Cardinals made history on Monday, hiring Jen Welter as the first female coach the National Football League.

As part of the Bill Bidwill Coaching Fellowship, Dr Welter will work for the team as a training camp and preseason intern coaching inside linebackers.

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians praised the 37-year-old coach in a release by azcardinals.com.

“Coaching is nothing more than teaching — One thing I have learned from players is, ‘How are you going to make me better? If you can make me better, I don’t care if you’re the Green Hornet, man, I’ll listen.’ I really believe she’ll have a great opportunity with this internship through training camp to open some doors for her,” he said.

"She came for an OTA [organised team activity] and I met her, and I thought she was the type of person that could handle this in a very positive way for women and open that door."

The newly appointed coach responded to her new position on Twitter, giving thanks to the team and giving props to fellow women who love the sport.

Dr Welter earned a master’s degree in sport psychology and a PhD in psych. She was also the first female player in a non-kicking position for the Indoor Football League's Texas Revolution — a running back and special teams player. She’s a former Boston College Rugby player, earning two gold medals with Team USA at the International Federation of Football Women's World Championships both in 2010 and 2013.

The NFL also hired Sarah Thomas as its first full-time female referee in April this year.

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