NC native Jennifer King becomes first Black female assistant coach in the NFL after promotion within Washington Football Team

North Carolina's own Jennifer King is part of the renaissance of women finding their place in one of America's most testosterone-driven entities - the NFL.

Tuesday morning, King was named assistant running backs coach with the Washington Football team. The promotion made her the first African American female assistant position coach in NFL history.

King was an intern with Washington during the 2020 season, following head coach Ron Rivera from Carolina, where she coached running backs and wide receivers as an intern.

In a release from the team, Rivera called King "a hard worker, a great communicator and a quality person." Washington had a late-season surge to win the NFC East, highlighted by a victory against the previously unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers.

King is the second female assistant position coach in the league, behind Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust. In addition, Callie Brownson was recently hired as Chief of Staff under Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.

"I think, for the little girls, that's just what I want for them," King told WSOC in 2018. "To let them know that if that's what they want to do, they can do it."

She grew up in Rockingham County, graduating from Rockingham County High and going to Guilford College where she played basketball and softball. After graduating from Guilford in 2006, King was an assistant coach on the Greensboro College women's basketball team.

In next week's Super Bowl, referee Sarah Thomas will become the first woman to officiate the game.