The Washington Football Team game against the Cleveland Browns has special significance Sunday for women and the NFL.
The contest marks the first time in league history a game features a female coach on both sidelines and a female official on the field.
Sunday's @WashingtonNFL vs. @Browns game will mark the first regular season game in NFL history to have a female coach on both sidelines and a female official. pic.twitter.com/15N2Z2rksC
— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2020
Callie Brownson is the chief of staff for Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and Jennifer King is in her first season on Ron Rivera’s coaching staff in Washington. Sarah Thomas became the league’s first female official in 2015, has worked in the postseason, and is now making more history.
Washington coach Ron Rivera acknowledged the moment with a tweet Sunday.
As I am doing my final pregame prep a sense of pride has come to me. I can’t help but think of the historic significance of today. Very happy for all the women involved in our @nfl game & very proud of @JenniferKing5 #GameChanger
— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) September 27, 2020
A former college basketball coach, King first connected with Washington coach Ron Rivera when both were in North Carolina. She joined Rivera’s staff as an intern in 2018 with the Panthers, and when he took the job in Washington earlier this year, King came with him as an offensive assistant and full-year coaching intern — the first Black woman in league history.
Brownson was an all-around player in the Women’s Football Alliance before she was bitten by the coaching bug. She started at the high school level, wound up at Dartmouth and was hired by Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott, who gave her a full season internship in 2019.