The Athletes and Trainers Not Born in the United States

While the US is a nation of immigrants, the National Football League is largely led by US-born athletes. Just 5% of players are born abroad, and most of them enter the game by going to university in the US. True outsiders are unusual, and coaches from abroad are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s journey remarkable.

Cook’s Surprising Path to the NFL

Cook has been in charge of player development at the Cleveland Browns. That’s an achievement in itself, but it’s extraordinary considering he grew up in Surrey, is in his late 20s, and did not participated in professional sport. Cook discovered the NFL as a 12-year-old while surfing channels with his dad and came across what he described as a “strange and amazing” sport. He began participating locally and quickly aspired to become the first-ever NFL QB from Europe. He progressed to representing Great Britain, but his dreams to go to college in the US proved too expensive.

“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, making burgers, handling a bit of everything. Any time the NFL people wanted me, I would adjust my schedule and assist. Being a quarterback, the one thing I had was I could throw. So when they worked out with players, I’d show up all over London and toss the ball to them. I wasn’t paid, but they’d usually get me lunch.”

This is where he met Aden Durde, who had periods with the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his career before he set up the International Player Pathway program in that year with two-time championship winner Osi Umenyiora. When Durde joined the coaching team at the Falcons, becoming the first-ever UK permanent coach in NFL history, Cook assumed control of the IPP. “I enjoyed a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable guys,” he says. “We had Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who was selected by Buffalo; Charlie Smyth, the kicker from Ireland who’s now with the New Orleans. I traveled to Down Under to train younger players from around the Pacific region to get them into college football, like what I wanted to do.”

Making the Leap to NFL Coaching

Like Durde before him, Cook transitioned from working with foreign players to joining the NFL. “Cleveland called out of the blue,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position supporting younger players, optimizing efficiency on the practice field, collaborating with physios, the coach and GM. It’s a very hands-on role, which is perfect for me. My experience was guiding international athletes who had not played the game. Rookie rookies also have to build habits and schedules: how to take care of their health and handle a huge playbook. But also just being present for players. That’s the same across the board. And I love that.”

Is being an Brit who never compete in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s more of a imagined barrier than an real one,” says Cook. “I’ve had a lot of reverse Ted Lasso jokes and loads of players refer to me as ‘mate’ as they love that. It’s more about checking myself. I use ‘trash can’ not ‘bin’. But we feel anxious or stressed about the same things and require support in the identical ways. If players know you can help them, they don’t care where you’re from or what accent. And when players realize that you are invested, all the other stuff fades.”

Benefits of Coming From Beyond the US System

Coming from outside the American football world has its upsides. “I addressed in front of the entire team very early on, and, as we left, one of our offensive linemen wanted to talk the sport with me as he enjoys it. You build those bonds and form friendships. People are truly intrigued. NFL organizations are varied than many think. We have people from various 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 better at producing foreign fans than nurturing foreign players. Mailata, a former rugby league player from Australia who won the Super Bowl earlier this year with the Eagles, is one of the few IPP graduates to have risen to the elite level.

International Athletes and Their Journeys

International athletes have typically been specialists, recruited from different sports. Howfield exchanged soccer for Watford and Fulham for being a kicker for the Broncos and Jets; Mick Luckhurst transitioned from rugby union in St Albans to the Falcons roster. If you aren’t aiming to be a special teams player and did not educated in the American system, it’s extremely difficult to advance to the NFL.

Oyelola, a Londoner who played for Chelsea’s youth team before discovering the sport at Nottingham University, has achieved that. He competed in the Canadian Football League for the Blue Bombers before moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Steelers.

Maximilian Pircher’s story is equally unlikely. At 6ft 7in and heavyweight, the from Italy was obviously not suited for his favoured sports, soccer and the sport, so took up American football in his late teens. He impressed while representing teams in Europe and Europe, as well as the Italy team, and was offered a place on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he held the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Rams practice squad. Pircher subsequently had spells on the fringes at the Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Commanders, before he joined the Vikings at the end of August. He has been popular in each team but is hasn’t had action on the gridiron. Is his status as a international player still a hurdle?

“It isn’t difficult, not an obstacle,” says the player. “We have players from all different states, so it doesn’t really matter. Initially, they inquire: ‘You speak differently – where are you from?’ But, once we clarify that, we’re teammates. The Minnesota have a very welcoming culture, a excellent team, a great organization.”

Although spending most of practice with his fellow linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the team dynamics at his clubs. “Obviously the O-line is always close-knit because we are a unit and united, but we have friends from all positions. My best friend, Akers – my wedding witness, actually – was a wide receiver at the LA. The long snapper from the Packers, Orzech, is a really good friend: we lived together for a while at the LA Rams. QBs, defenders, special teams: we’ve got to be supportive.”

Motivating the Future

Pircher is conscious he symbolizes not only his home countries. “In my view every nation beyond the United States. The better each one of us performs, the greater number of young people who play football in Italy, in Europe, wherever, can realize: ‘Oh it is possible – if I put the work in consistently, I can succeed.’ I have a many kids contacting me, seeking tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to experience what I’ve achieved.”

The IPP graduates are all invited to Florida annually to coach the new group of potential NFL internationals. “Virtually everyone of us come back