Jennifer

King

King spent the last three seasons as the Commanders’ assistant running backs coach, making her mark as the first black woman to be a full-time NFL coach in 2021. She has worked with running backs like Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson and now gets a new opportunity with the Bears. King will be an offensive assistant working with running backs, set to work with backs like Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson.

King will be the NFL’s first-ever full-time assistant coach. She spent 2020 as a full-time intern for the Football Team, working with running backs coach Randy Jordan in coaching Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic, and Peyton Barber. King, an intern for two years under Ron Rivera when he was in Carolina, played for three women’s football teams from 2006-2019 and coached Johnson & Wales University Charlotte women’s basketball to a USCAA Division II national championship. The Football Team -- once excoriated for its lack of diversity, possible violation of the Rooney Rule, offensive team name, and hostility to women in the organization -- now boasts the most progressive hiring practices of any NFL team. Rivera is the third Latino head coach in league history, Martin Mayhew is one of only five black general managers in the NFL, and Jason Wright -- who is black -- serves as team president.