The Athletes and Coaches Not Born in the USA

While the US is a country of immigrants, the National Football League is still dominated by American-born athletes. Just 5% of participants are foreign-born, and the majority of them step into the sport by going to university in the United States. Genuine outsiders are unusual, and foreign coaches are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s story remarkable.

Cook’s Surprising Journey to the League

For the past six months, Cook has been in charge of player development at the Browns organization. This is an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary given he was raised in Surrey, is in his twenties, and never participated in professional sport. Cook first saw the NFL as a 12-year-old while surfing channels with his dad and stumbled upon what he called a “strange and amazing” game. He started playing in his area and soon wanted to become the first-ever NFL QB born in Europe. He got as far as playing for Team GB, but his plans to attend college in the US proved financially prohibitive.

“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people needed me, I would switch my schedule and assist. Being a quarterback, the one thing I had was I could throw. So when they trained with players, I’d appear all over London and toss the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d often get me lunch.”

This is where he encountered Durde, who had periods with the Carolina Panthers and Chiefs during his playing days before he established the International Player Pathway program in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Umenyiora. When Durde became part of the staff at the Falcons, making history as the first-ever UK full-time coach in NFL history, Cook assumed control of the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable players,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who was selected by Buffalo; Smyth, the kicker from Ireland who’s now with the New Orleans. I traveled to Down Under to work with younger players from across the Pacific to introduce them to college football, like what I had hoped to do.”

Transitioning to Coaching in the NFL

Similar to his predecessor before him, Cook transitioned from training foreign players to joining the NFL. “The Browns contacted me unexpectedly,” he says. “They had a hybrid role assisting younger players, optimizing time on the practice field, collaborating with medical staff, the coach and GM. It’s a really hands-on position, which is ideal for me. My experience was guiding international athletes who had not played the sport. First-year newcomers also have to establish habits and routines: how to take care of their health and handle a massive playbook. But also just being available for players. That’s the identical across the board. And I love that.”

Is being an Englishman who never play in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s more of a imagined barrier than an actual one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of reverse Ted Lasso comments and loads of players refer to me as ‘bruv’ as they like that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I say ‘trash can’ not ‘bin’. But we feel anxious or under pressure about the similar things and need support in the same ways. If players know you can help them, they don’t care where you’re from or how you speak. And when players know that you care, all the other stuff fades.”

Benefits of Coming From Beyond the NFL Bubble

Coming from outside the American football world has its advantages. “I addressed in front of the entire team soon after joining, and, as we left, one of our linemen wanted to talk rugby with me as he loves it. You make those connections and form friendships. People are truly curious. NFL organizations are varied than people think. We have staff from all sorts of backgrounds, a variety of upbringings. Our mantra at IPP was: ‘Be uncommon – you are different so embrace it.’ It’s something to celebrate.”

The NFL has been more successful at attracting foreign fans than nurturing foreign players. Jordan Mailata, a former rugby player from Australia who won the Super Bowl recently with the Eagles, is among the rare IPP players to have risen to the elite level.

Foreign Athletes and Their Journeys

Foreign players have typically been specialists, brought in from different sports. Bobby Howfield swapped soccer for Watford and Fulham for becoming a kicker for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets; Mick Luckhurst transitioned from rugby union in St Albans to the Atlanta Falcons roster. If you aren’t aiming to be a special teams player and were not educated in the US college system, it’s extremely difficult to make the leap to the NFL.

Ayo Oyelola, a native of London who was part of Chelsea’s youth team before finding the sport at university, has achieved that. He competed in the CFL for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Maximilian Pircher’s experience is just as unlikely. At 6ft 7in and 23 stone, the Italian was clearly not suited for his favoured sports, football and the sport, so started American football in his teenage years. He stood out while representing clubs in Austria and Europe, as well as the national side, and was offered a spot on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he had his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a part of the LA Rams training team. Pircher went on to have periods on the fringes at the Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Vikings at the end of August. He has been popular in each team but is yet to see game time on the field. Is his status as a foreigner still a hurdle?

“It’s not really difficult, not an obstacle,” notes the player. “We have players from all different states, so it doesn’t really matter. At first, they inquire: ‘You got an accent – where are you from?’ But, after we clarify that, we’re all friends. The Minnesota have a really inclusive environment, a excellent squad, a top franchise.”

Despite devoting the majority of practice with his fellow linemen, Pircher has immersed himself in the social mix at his teams. “Naturally the O-line is consistently close-knit because we are a group and altogether one, but we have mates from all positions. My best friend, Akers – my wedding witness, actually – played receiver at the Rams. The long snapper from the Green Bay, Orzech, is a really good friend: we shared a home for a while at the LA Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, specialists: we’ve got to be supportive.”

Motivating the Next Generation

Pircher is aware he symbolizes not only Italy and Austria. “I would say all the countries beyond the US. The more successful each one of us does, the greater number of youth who play football in Europe, in Europe, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – if I dedicate myself every day, I can succeed.’ I have a lot of youngsters hitting me up, asking for tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to pursue what I’ve achieved.”

The IPP graduates are all invited to Florida each year to train the next wave of potential NFL outsiders. “Almost all of us come back