The Players and Trainers Born Outside in the United States
While the United States is a nation of immigrants, the National Football League is still dominated by American-born players. Only five percent of players are born abroad, and most of them step into the sport by going to university in the United States. True outsiders are rare, and coaches from abroad are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s journey exceptional.
Cook’s Unlikely Path to the NFL
For the past six months, Cook has been in charge of athlete growth at the Cleveland Browns. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary given he grew up in England, is in his late 20s, and did not played professional sport. Cook first saw the NFL as a teenager while surfing channels with his father and stumbled upon what he described as a “weird and wonderful” game. He started playing locally and soon wanted to become the first NFL quarterback from Europe. He progressed to representing Great Britain, but his plans to go to university in the US proved too expensive.
“I scooped popcorn, cleaning seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Any time the NFL people wanted me, I would adjust my schedule and help out. As a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could pass. So when they worked out with players, I’d show up all over London and toss the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d usually buy me lunch.”
It was here that he encountered Aden Durde, who had stints with the Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his career before he established the International Player Pathway program in that year with two-time championship winner Umenyiora. When Durde joined the coaching team at the Atlanta Falcons, making history as the first-ever British full-time coach in NFL annals, Cook assumed control of the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, working with some really interesting guys,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who was selected by Buffalo; Charlie Smyth, the kicker from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the New Orleans. I traveled to Down Under to work with younger players from across the Pacific region to introduce them to college football, like what I wanted to do.”
Transitioning to NFL Coaching
Like his predecessor before him, Cook transitioned from working with foreign players to joining the NFL. “Cleveland called out of the blue,” he explains. “They had a hybrid role assisting younger players, optimizing efficiency on the training ground, working closely with medical staff, the head coach and GM. It’s a very hands-on position, which is ideal for me. My background was working with players from abroad who had never played the game. First-year newcomers also have to establish structure and schedules: learning to take care of their health and deal with a massive playbook. But also just being present for players. That’s the same everywhere. And I enjoy that.”
Does being an Brit who never compete in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s largely a imagined hurdle than an actual one,” says Cook. “I’ve had a lot of Lasso-style comments and loads of players refer to me as ‘bruv’ as they like that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I use ‘trash can’ not ‘bin’. But we get nervous or under pressure about the similar things and need support in the identical ways. If players know you can assist them, they aren’t concerned about your origin or what accent. And when players realize that you care, all the other stuff melts away.”
Advantages of Being Beyond the NFL Bubble
Coming from beyond the American football world has its advantages. “I addressed in front of the entire team very early on, and, as we left, one of our linemen asked me about the sport with me as he loves it. You make those connections and form friendships. People are genuinely curious. NFL organizations are more diverse than people think. We have people from all sorts of origins, a variety of upbringings. Our mantra at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are unique so lean into it.’ It’s something to celebrate.”
The NFL has been better at producing foreign fans than nurturing foreign players. Mailata, a ex- rugby league player from Sydney who claimed the championship recently with the Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have risen to the very top.
International Players and Their Paths
International athletes have typically been specialists, brought in from other football codes. Howfield exchanged soccer for English clubs for becoming a kicker for the Broncos and New York Jets; Mick Luckhurst transitioned from rugby union in St Albans to the Atlanta Falcons team. If you do not want to be a kicker and were not educated in the US college system, it’s extremely difficult to advance to the NFL.
Oyelola, a Londoner who was part of Chelsea’s academy before finding the sport at university, has made that step. He played in the CFL for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before taking his talents to the Jaguars and Steelers.
Maximilian Pircher’s story is equally unlikely. At 6ft 7in and heavyweight, the from Italy was obviously not built for his favoured sports, soccer and the sport, so took up the NFL in his late teens. He impressed while representing clubs in Europe and Germany, 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 subsequently had spells on the periphery at the Detroit Lions, Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Vikings at the end of August. He has been well-liked in every locker room but is yet to see action on the gridiron. Is his status as a foreigner still a challenge?
“It isn’t difficult, not an obstacle,” notes the player. “We have players from various regions, so it isn’t an issue. 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 environment, a great squad, a great franchise.”
Although spending most of practice with his fellow offensive linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the team dynamics at his teams. “Naturally the O-line is consistently close-knit because we are a unit and united, but we have friends from all positions. My best friend, Akers – my best man, in fact – was a receiver at the LA. The long snapper from the Packers, Matt Orzech, is a really good friend: we shared a home for a while at the LA Rams. QBs, defenders, special teams: we’ve got to be supportive.”
Motivating the Next Generation
Pircher is conscious he represents not only his home countries. “In my view all the countries outside the United States. The better every IPP graduate performs, the greater number of young people who play football in Italy, in Europe, wherever, can realize: ‘Oh it is possible – if I put the work in consistently, I can succeed.’ I have a many youngsters hitting me up, asking for tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to experience what I’ve experienced.”
The IPP graduates are welcomed to Florida each year to train the new group of aspiring NFL internationals. “Almost all of us come back
