These Players and Trainers Not Born in the USA

While the US is a nation of immigrants, the NFL is still led by American-born athletes. Only five percent of players are born abroad, and the majority of them enter the sport by going to college in the United States. True international figures are unusual, and coaches from abroad are particularly rare, which makes James Cook’s journey exceptional.

Cook’s Surprising Journey to the League

For the past six months, Cook has been in charge of athlete growth at the Cleveland Browns. This is an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary considering he was raised in England, is in his twenties, and did not participated in professional sport. Cook first saw the NFL as a 12-year-old while channel-flicking with his father and stumbled upon what he described as a “weird and wonderful” game. He started playing in his area and quickly wanted to become the first-ever NFL quarterback from Europe. He progressed to representing Great Britain, but his plans to go to college in the US proved financially prohibitive.

“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Any time the NFL guys needed me, I would switch my schedule and help out. As a quarterback, the one thing I had was I could throw. So when they trained with players, I’d appear around London and throw the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d often buy me lunch.”

It was here that he met Durde, who had periods with the Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his career before he established the International Player Pathway programme in that year 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 British permanent coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I enjoyed a lot of fun with it, working with some remarkable players,” he recalls. “We had Louis Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who got drafted by Buffalo; Smyth, the specialist from Ireland who’s now with the New Orleans. I traveled to Down Under to train younger players from across the Pacific to introduce them to the US college system, similar to what I had hoped to do.”

Making the Leap to Coaching in the NFL

Similar to his predecessor before him, Cook made the jump from working with international athletes to joining the NFL. “Cleveland contacted me unexpectedly,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position supporting younger players, optimizing efficiency on the practice field, collaborating with medical staff, the head coach and GM. It’s a very active position, which is ideal for me. My experience was working with players from abroad who had not played the sport. First-year rookies also have to establish habits and routines: how to look after their health and handle a massive game plan. But also just being available for guys. That’s the same everywhere. And I love that.”

Does being an Englishman who did not play in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s largely a perceived barrier than an real one,” says Cook. “I get a lot of reverse Ted Lasso jokes and loads of players call me ‘bruv’ as they love that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I say ‘trash can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we feel anxious or under pressure about the similar things and require help in the same ways. If players know you can assist them, they aren’t concerned where you’re from or what accent. And when people know that you care, all the other stuff melts away.”

Benefits of Coming From Beyond the US System

Originating from outside the American football world has its upsides. “I addressed in front of the entire team very early on, and, as we walked out, one of our offensive linemen wanted to talk the sport with me as he loves it. You build those bonds and form friendships. Teammates are truly curious. NFL organizations are more diverse than many think. We have people from all sorts of backgrounds, a variety of upbringings. Our mantra at IPP was: ‘Be uncommon – you are different so lean into it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”

The NFL has been better at attracting international supporters than developing global talent. Jordan Mailata, a ex- rugby player from Australia who won the Super Bowl earlier this year with the Philadelphia Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have made it to the elite level.

International Athletes and Their Journeys

International athletes have usually been specialists, brought in from different sports. Bobby Howfield swapped soccer for Watford and Fulham for becoming a kicker for the Broncos and New York Jets; Luckhurst transitioned from rugby union in St Albans to the Falcons team. If you do not want to be a special teams player and did not trained in the American system, it’s extremely difficult to make the leap to the NFL.

Oyelola, a native of London who played for Chelsea’s academy before discovering the sport at Nottingham University, has achieved that. He played in the CFL for the Blue Bombers before taking his talents to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pircher’s story is equally unlikely. At over two meters and heavyweight, the Italian was clearly not suited for his preferred games, football and the sport, so took up American football in his late teens. He impressed while playing for clubs in Europe and Europe, as well as the Italy team, and was offered a place on the IPP in 2021.

A year later, he had his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Rams training team. Pircher went on to have spells on the periphery at the Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Commanders, before he joined the Minnesota Vikings at the late summer. He has been popular in every locker room but is hasn’t had game time on the field. Is his status as a international player still a challenge?

“It’s not really difficult, not a barrier,” notes the player. “We have players from all different states, so it isn’t an issue. At first, they inquire: ‘You got an accent – what’s your background?’ But, once we clarify that, we’re all friends. The Minnesota have a very welcoming culture, a excellent squad, a great organization.”

Despite devoting the majority of training with his fellow linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the team dynamics at his teams. “Naturally the O-line is always very tight because we are a unit and united, but we have mates from all positions. My best friend, Akers – my wedding witness, actually – was a wide receiver at the LA. The long snapper from the Green Bay, Matt Orzech, is a really good friend: we shared a home for a while at the LA Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, special teams: we’ve got to be supportive.”

Inspiring the Future

Pircher is aware he symbolizes not only his home countries. “In my view every nation beyond the US. The better every IPP graduate does, the more young people who play football in Italy, in Europe, wherever, can see: ‘Oh it is possible – if I put the work in every day, I can get somewhere.’ I have a many youngsters hitting me up, asking for tips. It’s nice to inspire them to pursue what I’ve achieved.”

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