These Athletes and Coaches Born Outside in the United States
While the United States is a country of newcomers, the National Football League is still led by American-born athletes. Just 5% of participants are born abroad, and most of them enter the sport by going to university in the United States. Genuine international figures are rare, and foreign coaches are particularly scarce, which makes James Cook’s journey remarkable.
James Cook’s Surprising Path to the NFL
For the past six months, Cook has been in charge of athlete growth at the Cleveland Browns. This is an achievement in itself, but it’s incredible given he grew up in Surrey, is in his late 20s, and did not participated in professional sport. Cook first saw the NFL as a 12-year-old while channel-flicking with his father and stumbled upon what he described as a “weird and wonderful” game. He started playing in his area and quickly wanted to become the first-ever NFL QB from Europe. He got as far as representing Great Britain, but his dreams to go to university in the US were too expensive.
“I scooped popcorn, cleaning seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people needed me, I would switch my shifts and help out. As a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could throw. So when they worked out with players, I’d appear all over London and throw the ball to them. I wasn’t paid, but they’d often get me lunch.”
It was here that he encountered Aden Durde, who had stints with the Carolina Panthers and Chiefs during his playing days before he set up the International Player Pathway programme in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Umenyiora. When Durde joined the coaching team at the Falcons, making history as the first-ever British full-time coach in NFL annals, Cook assumed control of the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable guys,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who was selected by the Bills; Charlie Smyth, the specialist from Ireland who’s now with the Saints. I went to Down Under to train younger players from across the Pacific to get them into college football, similar to what I wanted to do.”
Transitioning to NFL Coaching
Similar to Durde before him, Cook transitioned from training foreign players to coaching in the NFL. “The Browns contacted me out of the blue,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position assisting rookies, maximising efficiency on the training ground, working closely with medical staff, the head coach and general manager. It’s a really active role, which is perfect for me. My experience was working with players from abroad who had not played the sport. Rookie newcomers also have to establish habits and routines: how to take care of their body and handle a massive playbook. But also just being available for guys. That’s the same everywhere. And I enjoy that.”
Does being an Brit who did not play in the NFL hold him back? “It’s largely a imagined hurdle than an real one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of reverse Ted Lasso jokes and loads of players call me ‘bruv’ as they like that. It’s more about checking myself. I say ‘trash can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we get nervous or stressed about the similar things and require help in the identical ways. If players understand you can help them, they don’t care about your origin or how you speak. And when people know that you are invested, all the other stuff melts away.”
Benefits of Being Outside the US System
Coming from outside the American football world has its upsides. “I addressed in front of the entire team soon after joining, and, as we walked out, one of our offensive linemen wanted to talk rugby with me as he enjoys it. You build those bonds and build relationships. People are genuinely curious. NFL organizations are more diverse than many think. We have staff from all sorts of origins, a variety of experiences. Our saying at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are unique so lean into it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”
The NFL has been more successful at attracting foreign fans than nurturing foreign players. Mailata, a former rugby player from Australia who won the Super Bowl recently with the Philadelphia Eagles, is one of the few IPP players to have risen to the very top.
International Athletes and Their Paths
International athletes have typically been specialists, recruited from other football codes. Bobby Howfield exchanged soccer for Watford and Fulham for being a placekicker for the Broncos and Jets; Luckhurst transitioned from rugby in England to the Falcons roster. If you aren’t aiming to be a kicker and did not educated in the US college system, it’s very challenging to advance to the NFL.
Oyelola, a Londoner who was part of Chelsea’s academy before discovering American football at university, has made that step. He played in the Canadian Football League for the Blue Bombers before taking his talents to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pircher’s story is just as improbable. At over two meters and heavyweight, the Italian was obviously not built for his preferred games, football and handball, so started the NFL in his late teens. He stood out while playing for clubs in Austria and Europe, as well as the Italy team, and was offered a spot on the IPP in that year.
A year later, he held the championship trophy as a member of the Rams training team. Pircher went on to have periods on the periphery at the Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Commanders, before he signed with the Minnesota Vikings at the late summer. He has been well-liked in every locker room but is yet to see game time on the field. Is being a international player still a challenge?
“It’s not really difficult, not a barrier,” notes the player. “We have players from various regions, so it doesn’t really matter. At first, they inquire: ‘You got an accent – what’s your background?’ But, after we have that figured out, we’re all friends. The Minnesota have a very welcoming environment, a excellent squad, a top organization.”
Although spending the majority of practice with his other offensive linemen, Pircher has immersed himself in the social mix at his clubs. “Naturally the offensive line is consistently close-knit because we are a unit and united, but we have friends from every position group. My best friend, Landen Akers – my best man, actually – played receiver at the LA. The specialist from the Packers, Orzech, is a close pal: we shared a home for a while at the Rams. QBs, defenders, special teams: we’ve have to be there for each other.”
Motivating the Future
Pircher is aware he represents not only his home countries. “I would say all the countries outside the United States. The better each one of us performs, the more young people who participate in Europe, in Germany, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – if I put the work in every day, I can get somewhere.’ I have a lot of kids contacting me, seeking tips. It’s nice to inspire them to experience what I’ve achieved.”
The program alumni are all invited to Florida annually to train the new group of aspiring NFL outsiders. “Almost all of us return
