Jennifer King facts for kids
_(cropped_2).jpg)
King in 2021
|
|
| Chicago Bears | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive assistant (running backs) |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 6, 1984 Eden, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Rockingham County (Wentworth, North Carolina) |
| College: |
|
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
|
|
| As coach: | |
|
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Jennifer King, born on August 6, 1984, is an American football coach. She works as an offensive assistant for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL). Jennifer made history as the first Black woman to become a full-time coach in the NFL. This happened when she became an assistant running backs coach for the Washington Commanders in 2021. Before coaching football, she played two sports at Guilford College. She also coached women's college basketball and worked with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
Contents
Early Life and College Years
Jennifer King was born on August 6, 1984, in Eden, North Carolina. She grew up in Reidsville, North Carolina. Jennifer went to Guilford College and played two sports there. She was on the college basketball team and the softball team. In 2006, she earned a degree in sports management.
After college, Jennifer played in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). She played for the Carolina Phoenix from 2006 to 2017. She was a quarterback and a wide receiver. In 2018, she played for the New York Sharks as a defensive back and wide receiver. She helped the Sharks win the 2018 WFA Division II Championship. In 2019, she played safety for the D.C. Divas. Later, she went to Liberty University and earned a Master of Science degree in sports management.
Coaching Career
Coaching Basketball
| Playing career | |
|---|---|
| Basketball | |
| 2002–2006 | Guilford |
| Softball | |
| 2002–2006 | Guilford |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2006–2016 | Greensboro (assistant) |
| 2016–2018 | Johnson & Wales |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 37–10 (.787) (college) |
| Tournaments | 3–0 (USCAA Division II) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 USCAA National (2018) | |
| Awards | |
| USCAA Women's Division II Coach of the Year (2018) | |
Jennifer King started her coaching career in basketball. She was an assistant coach at Greensboro College from 2006 to 2016. During her time there, the team had a great record of 182 wins and 63 losses. They won 5 regular season championships and 2 conference tournament championships. The team also made it to the NCAA tournament four times.
After that, she became the head coach for women's basketball at Johnson & Wales University in North Carolina. She took a team that was only two years old and helped them become national champions in just two seasons.
| 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 Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
|||||||||
Coaching American Football
In 2018, Jennifer King attended an NFL event called the Women's Forum. There, she met Ron Rivera, who was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers at the time. She told him she was interested in working in the NFL. Later that year, the Panthers hired her as an intern. She helped coach their wide receivers.
Her first full-time football coaching job was in 2018. She became an assistant wide receivers and special teams coach for the Arizona Hotshots. This team was part of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). When the AAF league stopped playing in 2019, King returned to the Panthers as an intern. This time, she worked with the running backs.
Jennifer King also became an offensive assistant at Dartmouth College for the 2019 season. While she was there, she received a special award. It was one of the first grants from the Scott Pioli & Family Fund. This fund helps female football coaches and scouts with money. In 2020, she interned again with the Washington Football Team. She worked under Coach Rivera, who had moved to Washington.
The next year, she was promoted to assistant running backs coach. This made her the first Black woman to become a full-time coach in NFL history. In 2022, she coached the West team in the 2022 East–West Shrine Bowl. In 2024, the Chicago Bears hired her as an offensive assistant. She continues to focus on coaching running backs.
Personal Life
Outside of football, Jennifer King has had other interesting jobs. She has worked as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. She also served as a police officer in High Point, North Carolina.
