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Jennifer King

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Jennifer King
refer to caption
King in 2021
Chicago Bears
Position:Offensive assistant (running backs)
Personal information
Born: (1984-08-06) August 6, 1984 (age 40)
Eden, North Carolina, U.S.
Career information
High school:Rockingham County (Wentworth, North Carolina)
College:
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards

Jennifer King (born August 6, 1984) is an American football coach who is an offensive assistant for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). She is best known for being the first black woman to be a full-time NFL coach upon being named assistant running backs coach for the Washington Commanders in 2021. A former two-sport athlete at Guilford College, King has also coached women's college basketball and for the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

Early life and college

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King was born August 6, 1984, in Eden, North Carolina, and was raised in Reidsville, North Carolina.[1] She attended Guilford College, where she played college basketball and softball, before graduating with a degree in sports management in 2006.[2] She played in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA) as a quarterback and wide receiver for the Carolina Phoenix from 2006 to 2017, a defensive back and wide receiver for the New York Sharks in 2018, and safety for the D.C. Divas in 2019. She was a part of the Sharks team that won the 2018 WFA Division II Championship. She later attended Liberty University in the mid-2010s and graduated with a Master of Science degree in sports management.[3]

Coaching career

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Basketball

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Playing career
Basketball
2002–2006Guilford
Softball
2002–2006Guilford
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2006–2016Greensboro (assistant)
2016–2018Johnson & Wales
Head coaching record
Overall37–10 (.787) (college)
Tournaments3–0 (USCAA Division II)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 USCAA National (2018)
Awards
USCAA Women's Division II Coach of the Year (2018)

King was an assistant coach at Greensboro College from 2006 to 2016, where the program compiled a 182–63 record, 5 regular season championships, 2 conference tournament championships, and four NCAA tournament appearances. She was hired as the women's basketball head coach at Johnson & Wales University in North Carolina, where she turned around a program that had existed for only two years prior into a national champion within two seasons.[4][5]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Johnson & Wales Wildcats (Eastern Metro Athletic Conference) (2016–2018)
2016–17 Johnson & Wales 15–6 2–0
2017–18 Johnson & Wales 22–4 USCAA Division II National Champion
Johnson & Wales: 37–10 (.787) 2–0 (1.000)
Total: 37–10 (.787)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

American football

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King in 2020

King was one of 40 women to attend the NFL's Women's Forum in 2018, where she met then-Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera and expressed her interest in working with in the NFL.[6] She was hired as an intern by the Panthers later that year, where she assisting in coaching their wide receivers. She got her first full-time coaching gig in 2018 as an assistant wide receivers and special teams coach for the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).[7] After the AAF folded in 2019, King was once again brought on as an intern for the Panthers, this time working with the running backs.[8]

King was also named an offensive assistant at Dartmouth for the 2019 season. While there, she was awarded one of the three inaugural grants of the Scott Pioli & Family Fund for Women Football Coaches & Scouts, given to female football coaches and scouts to provide financial assistance.[9] She interned once more as a coach with the Washington Football Team in 2020, working once again under Rivera who joined Washington that season.[10][11] She was promoted to assistant running backs coach the following year, making her the first black woman to become a full-time coach in NFL history.[12][13] King served as the running backs coach for the West team in the 2022 East–West Shrine Bowl.[14] She was hired by the Chicago Bears as an offensive assistant in 2024, focusing on running backs.[15]

Personal life

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King has also worked as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines and as a police officer in High Point, North Carolina.[16][17][18]

References

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  1. ^ "Jennifer King". Guilford College. Archived from the original on August 24, 2004. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Jennifer King '06: Tackling Stereotypes and Pushing Boundaries". Guilford College. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "Jennifer King - LinkedIn". LinkedIn.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  4. ^ "Jennifer King Tabbed to Lead Women's Basketball Program". Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "King recently led Johnson & Wales to USCAA national title". Greensboro News and Record. March 27, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "'You got this; you've been doing this': high hopes for new Washington assistant coach Jennifer King". The Athletic. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Rockingham alumni Jennifer King accepts coaching job with Arizona Hotshots". Greensboro News and Record. February 18, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "Jennifer King steps in to coach Panthers running backs at Fan Fest". Carolina Panthers. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "King Receives Inaugural Grant for Women Football Coaches and Scouts". Dartmouth College Athletics. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  10. ^ "Jennifer King, Rockingham County native with ties to Guilford and Greensboro colleges, draws interest from Washington Redskins". Greensboro News and Record. February 9, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "Jennifer King Hired as NFL Coaching Intern". Dartmouth College Athletics. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Washington's Jennifer King will be first Black woman to be full-time NFL coach". New York Post. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Washington Names Jennifer King As Assistant Running Backs Coach". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  14. ^ Selby, Zach. "Jennifer King makes history as running backs coach for West team in 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Mayer, Larry (February 21, 2024). "Matt Eberflus finalizes Bears coaching staff". Chicago Bears. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  16. ^ Bryan, Will. "Jennifer King making waves as female coach". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2021. I also took a part-time job with Delta as a flight attendant so I could fly for free
  17. ^ "Jennifer King has been a cop, a QB and a national champion. Next up: Redskins assistant coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  18. ^ King, Jennifer (March 4, 2021). "Washington Football Team's Jennifer King on making history as first Black woman to be full-time NFL coach". ESPN. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
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