WASHINGTON — The Washington Football Team officially named Jennifer King as its assistant running backs coach on Tuesday. She was promoted after serving as the team's full-year coaching intern in 2020. The promotion makes her the first Black woman assistant position coach in NFL history, and only the second woman position coach in the league, behind Tampa Bay's 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,” said head coach Ron Rivera in a press release Tuesday. "She is a hard worker, a great communicator and a quality person. Coach King is always eager to learn and has shown tremendous growth since starting here last season. I know she will continue to be an asset to Coach Turner, Coach Jordan and the running back group and she earned this opportunity with her hard work. The sky is truly the limit for her.”
Last year, in her role as coaching intern, King worked with the offensive staff throughout the course of the offseason, training camp and regular season and specifically assisted running backs coach Randy Jordan. During the 2020 season, King assisted Jordan with a running back group that compiled 423 attempts for 1697 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. King worked closely with running back J.D. McKissic in developing his skills in the pass game. McKissic finished the regular season with 80 receptions, which is second-most in a season for a Washington running back in franchise history.
“I am very pleased to have Coach King back to assist me full-time in the running backs room,” said Jordan. “She was extremely helpful last year in seeing the game from a different perspective, and she was a tremendous communicator in our room. I look forward to continuing to collaborate as we move forward in our program and as she moves forward in her coaching career.”
News of King's history-making promotion follows the hiring of Martin Mayhew as the team's General Manager. Mayhew was hired last week. His addition made the Washington Football Team the first in history with a Black GM and a Black team president in Jason Wright, who was hired last year.
The team made the playoffs for the first time in five years, but lost to the now-Super-Bowl-bound Tampa Bay Buccaneers.