These Players and Trainers Not Born in the United States
While the US is a country of immigrants, the National Football League is largely dominated by US-born players. Only five percent of participants are born abroad, and the majority of them enter the sport by attending college in the United States. Genuine international figures are rare, and foreign coaches are particularly scarce, which renders James Cook’s journey remarkable.
Cook’s Surprising Journey to the League
Cook has been in control of athlete growth at the Cleveland Browns. This is an achievement in itself, but it’s incredible given he was raised in Surrey, is in his twenties, and never played professional sport. Cook first saw the NFL as a 12-year-old while surfing channels with his dad and came across what he called a “weird and wonderful” sport. He began participating in his area and quickly wanted to become the first NFL QB born in Europe. He got as far as representing Great Britain, but his plans to attend college in the US proved too expensive.
“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, making burgers, doing a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people wanted me, I would adjust my shifts and help out. As a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could throw. So when they trained with players, I’d appear all over London and throw the ball to them. I wasn’t paid, but they’d usually get me lunch.”
This is where he met Durde, who had stints with the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his playing days before he set up the IPP programme in 2017 with two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora. When Durde became part of the coaching team at the Atlanta Falcons, making history as the first-ever British permanent coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, working with some really interesting players,” he recalls. “We had Louis Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who was selected by the Bills; Charlie Smyth, the specialist from Ireland who’s now with the Saints. I traveled to Down Under to work with aspiring athletes from across the Pacific to introduce them to college football, similar to what I had hoped to do.”
Transitioning to NFL Coaching
Like his predecessor before him, Cook made the jump from training international athletes to coaching in the NFL. “Cleveland called unexpectedly,” he explains. “They had a hybrid role supporting younger players, maximising time on the training ground, working closely with medical staff, the head coach and GM. It’s a very active position, which is ideal for me. My experience was working with international athletes who had not played the sport. Rookie newcomers also have to build habits and schedules: learning to look after their body and handle a huge playbook. But also just being present for players. That’s the identical across the board. And I enjoy that.”
Does being an Englishman who did not play in the NFL hold him back? “It’s largely a imagined barrier than an real one,” says Cook. “I get a lot of reverse Ted Lasso jokes and many players call me ‘bruv’ as they love that. It’s more about checking myself. I use ‘trash can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we feel anxious or stressed about the similar things and need support in the same ways. If players understand you can assist them, they aren’t concerned about your origin or what accent. And when players know that you care, all the rest fades.”
Advantages of Coming From Beyond the US System
Coming from outside the American football world has its upsides. “I addressed in front of the whole squad very early on, and, as we walked out, one of our linemen wanted to talk the sport with me as he enjoys it. You build those bonds and build relationships. Teammates are truly intrigued. NFL buildings are more diverse than people think. We have staff from all sorts of origins, a range of experiences. Our saying at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are unique so lean into it.’ It’s something to celebrate.”
The NFL has been more successful at attracting international supporters than nurturing foreign players. Jordan Mailata, a former rugby league player from Australia who won the championship earlier this year with the Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have made it to the very top.
Foreign Players and Their Journeys
Foreign players have typically been specialists, brought in from different sports. Bobby Howfield exchanged soccer for English clubs for being a placekicker for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets; Mick Luckhurst graduated from rugby union in St Albans to the Falcons roster. If you do not want to be a kicker and did not educated in the US college system, it’s extremely difficult to make the leap to the NFL.
Ayo Oyelola, a Londoner who played for Chelsea’s academy before discovering the sport at Nottingham University, has made that step. He played in the Canadian Football League for the Blue Bombers before taking his talents to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Steelers.
Maximilian Pircher’s story is equally improbable. At over two meters and heavyweight, the Italian was clearly not suited for his favoured sports, football and the sport, so took up the NFL in his late teens. He stood out while representing teams 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 had his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a member of the LA Rams practice squad. Pircher went on to have spells on the fringes at the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Vikings at the late summer. He has been well-liked in every locker room but is yet to see game time on the gridiron. Is being a international player still a hurdle?
“It’s not really difficult, not an obstacle,” notes the player. “We have players from all different states, so it doesn’t really matter. Initially, they ask: ‘You got an accent – what’s your background?’ But, after we have that figured out, we’re all friends. The Vikings have a really inclusive culture, a excellent team, a great organization.”
Despite spending most of practice with his other offensive linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the social mix at his teams. “Obviously the O-line is consistently very tight because we are a group and altogether one, but we have mates from every position group. My close friend, Landen Akers – my wedding witness, in fact – was a wide receiver at the LA. The specialist from the Packers, Orzech, is a close pal: we shared a home for a while at the Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, specialists: we’ve have to be there for each other.”
Motivating the Next Generation
Pircher is conscious he symbolizes more than just Italy and Austria. “In my view every nation beyond the United States. The more successful each one of us performs, the more youth who participate in Italy, in Europe, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – if I put the work in every day, I can succeed.’ I have a lot of youngsters contacting me, asking for tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to pursue what I’ve experienced.”
The IPP graduates are welcomed to the US annually to coach the new group of aspiring NFL outsiders. “Almost all of us return
