Jen Welter, the NFL's first female coach, has been impressing Cardinals players during her thus far short tenure in Arizona. She's looked the part, acted the part and made it clear to those under tutelage that she's there not as a publicity stunt, but because she knows what she's talking about and she wants to help the Cardinals linebacker corps prepare for the 2015 NFL season and, more importantly, improve. She's even been given a cool new nickname by her players.
"Dr. J," Cardinals linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. "She's pretty cool, man."
Weatherspoon, along with Kevin Minter, Kenny Demens and Glenn Carson, have remained under Welter's watchful eye and five days into Cardinals training camp, the reviews for her work seem to be ultimately positive.
"She's definitely done this before," Minter said. "She came in cool, always has great input, just a great person overall. I feel like we're getting better because of it. I like her."
Minter told Weinfuss that he was concerned over Welter's presence, not because she's a woman, but because many first-year NFL coaches are desperate to make their mark right away and will take an overzealous approach to their players. Instead, Minter and the rest of the Cardinals inside linebackers made it clear that Welter's been even-keeled, enthusiastic and intense - in a good way.
"You got to listen," he said. "She got good points."
Not only is Welter knowledgeable though, she's a fiery competitor, as evidenced by her 14-year pro football career. It's something that comes through even more now that the Cards are practicing in pads.
"When we were in shorts, she wasn't as hype as she was now," Demens said. "We have a good hit, she's crunk, she's hype. You can tell she loves the physical aspect of the game. That's good. That's good. That's what it's all about."
Despite her gender, her linebackers view her as just another coach, out to teach as well as learn from her students.
"Honestly, she's like your typical football coach," Carson said. "There's really no difference whether it's a guy or girl.
"She's a football coach."
