Panthers hire first female coaching intern

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — By the age of 33, Jennifer King was already on the fast track to coaching success leading the Johnson and Wales women’s basketball team to a national title this past season, but she always had a passion and a dream to coach football.

There aren't many opportunities for women in football, but the Carolina Panthers gave King a shot by hiring her as the team’s first ever female coaching intern.

She's a former quarterback and wide receiver in a women’s tackle football league so she knows the sport and knows how to coach.

“I think, for the little girls, that’s just what I want for them,” King said. “To let them know that if that’s what they want to do, they can do it.”

King is shadowing the wide receivers coach, but she said her ultimate goal is to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL.

"It's so special to see someone in a position you never thought you could be in," King said.

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was impressed with having King on the practice field.

"When there is a woman coach around, the volume kind of settles down a little bit faster than when I'm yelling, which is kind of a neat thing," Rivera said.

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