The Players and Trainers Not Born in the USA

Although the United States is a country of newcomers, the NFL is largely dominated by American-born players. Only five percent of participants are foreign-born, and most of them enter the game by going to college in the US. Genuine outsiders are unusual, and coaches from abroad are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s journey exceptional.

Cook’s Surprising Path to the NFL

Cook has been in control of player development at the Browns organization. That’s an achievement in itself, but it’s incredible given he grew up in Surrey, is in his twenties, and never played 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 “weird and wonderful” game. He started playing in his area and soon aspired to become the first-ever NFL QB from Europe. He got as far as playing for Great Britain, but his dreams to attend college in the US proved too expensive.

“I scooped popcorn, wiping seats, flipping burgers, doing a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL guys wanted me, I would switch my shifts and help out. As a quarterback, the one thing I had was I could throw. So when they worked out with players, I’d appear all over London and throw the ball to them. I wasn’t paid, but they’d often buy me lunch.”

This is where he encountered 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 2017 with two-time championship winner Umenyiora. When Durde became part of the coaching team at the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first-ever UK full-time coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I enjoyed a lot of fun with it, coaching some really interesting guys,” he says. “We had Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who got drafted by the Bills; Smyth, the specialist from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the Saints. I went to Down Under to train younger players from around the Pacific to get them into the US college system, similar to what I wanted to do.”

Transitioning to NFL Coaching

Like Durde before him, Cook made the jump from training foreign players to coaching in the NFL. “Cleveland contacted me out of the blue,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position assisting rookies, maximising efficiency on the training ground, working closely with physios, the coach and general manager. It’s a very hands-on position, which is ideal for me. My background was working with international athletes who had not played the sport. First-year rookies also have to establish structure and routines: how to look after their health and deal with a massive playbook. But also just being present for guys. That’s the identical across the board. And I enjoy that.”

Does being an Brit who did not play in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s more of a imagined barrier than an actual one,” says Cook. “I’ve had a lot of reverse Ted Lasso jokes and many players call me ‘bruv’ as they like that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I say ‘trash can’ not ‘bin’. But we feel anxious or under pressure about the same things and require help in the identical ways. If players know you can help them, they aren’t concerned where you’re from or what accent. And when people know that you are invested, all the other stuff fades.”

Benefits of Being Beyond the NFL Bubble

Coming from outside the NFL bubble has its upsides. “I addressed in front of the whole squad very early on, and, as we left, one of our offensive linemen wanted to talk rugby with me as he enjoys it. You make those connections and build relationships. Teammates are truly curious. NFL organizations are more diverse than people think. We have staff from all sorts of backgrounds, a range of experiences. Our mantra at IPP was: ‘Be uncommon – you are unique so embrace it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”

The NFL has been better at producing foreign fans than nurturing foreign players. Jordan Mailata, a former rugby league player from Australia who won the championship recently with the Philadelphia Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have risen to the very top.

Foreign Players and Their Paths

International athletes have usually been specialists, recruited from other football codes. Bobby Howfield exchanged soccer for English clubs for becoming a placekicker 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 kicker and did not trained in the American system, it’s extremely difficult to make the leap to the NFL.

Ayo Oyelola, a Londoner who was part of Chelsea’s academy before finding American football at Nottingham University, has made that step. He played in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before taking his talents to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pircher’s story is equally improbable. At 6ft 7in and heavyweight, the Italian was obviously not built for his preferred games, football and the sport, so took up the NFL in his late teens. He stood out while representing clubs in Europe and Europe, as well as the Italy team, and was given a spot on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he had his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a part of the Rams training team. Pircher went on to have periods on the fringes at the Detroit Lions, Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he signed with the Minnesota Vikings at the end of August. He has been well-liked in each team but is hasn’t had 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 – where are you from?’ But, once we have that figured out, we’re all friends. The Vikings have a really inclusive culture, a great squad, a top franchise.”

Despite devoting the majority of practice with his other linemen, Pircher has immersed himself in the team dynamics at his teams. “Naturally the offensive line is consistently very tight because we are a group and altogether one, but we have friends from all positions. My best friend, Landen Akers – my best man, actually – was a wide receiver at the Rams. The long snapper from the Green Bay, Matt Orzech, is a really good friend: we lived together for a while at the Rams. QBs, defensive linemen, special teams: we’ve have to be supportive.”

Motivating the Future

Pircher is conscious he symbolizes not only his home countries. “In my view all the countries outside the US. The more successful each one of us performs, the greater number of youth who play football in Europe, in Germany, anywhere, can see: ‘It can be done – if I put the work in every day, I can get somewhere.’ I have a lot of youngsters contacting me, seeking tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to pursue what I’ve experienced.”

The IPP graduates are all invited to Florida annually to coach the new group of aspiring NFL outsiders. “Virtually everyone of us return