These Athletes and Coaches Born Outside in the United States
While the US is a country of immigrants, the National Football League is largely led by American-born players. Only five percent of participants are foreign-born, and most of them enter the game by attending university in the US. Genuine outsiders are rare, and foreign coaches are particularly scarce, which makes James Cook’s journey exceptional.
James Cook’s Unlikely Journey to the NFL
For the past six months, Cook has been in control of athlete growth at the Cleveland Browns. This is an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary considering he grew up in Surrey, is in his late 20s, and did not participated in pro sports. Cook discovered the NFL as a 12-year-old while surfing channels with his father and stumbled upon what he described as a “strange and amazing” sport. He began participating locally and soon wanted to become the first NFL quarterback born in Europe. He progressed to representing Great Britain, but his dreams to attend college in the US proved financially prohibitive.
“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, making burgers, doing a bit of everything. Any time the NFL people needed me, I would adjust my schedule and help out. Being a quarterback, the one thing I had was I could throw. So when they trained with players, I’d show up all over London and throw the ball to them. I wasn’t paid, but they’d often buy me lunch.”
It was here that he encountered Aden Durde, who had stints with the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his career before he established the IPP program in that year with two-time championship winner Osi Umenyiora. When Durde joined the coaching team at the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first-ever British full-time coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, working with some remarkable players,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who was selected by Buffalo; Charlie Smyth, the kicker from Ireland who’s now with the Saints. I went to Australia to train younger players from around the Pacific to introduce them to the US college system, like what I had hoped to do.”
Transitioning to NFL Coaching
Similar to his predecessor before him, Cook made the jump from training foreign players to coaching in the NFL. “Cleveland called unexpectedly,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position supporting rookies, maximising time on the practice field, collaborating with physios, the head coach and GM. It’s a very hands-on position, which is perfect for me. My experience was guiding international athletes who had not played the game. First-year newcomers also have to establish structure and routines: learning to take care of their health and handle a huge playbook. But also just being present for players. That’s the same everywhere. And I enjoy that.”
Is being an Brit who did not compete in the NFL hold him back? “It’s more of a perceived barrier than an real one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of Lasso-style jokes and loads of players call me ‘mate’ as they like that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I use ‘trash can’ not ‘bin’. But we get nervous or stressed about the similar things and require help in the same ways. If players know you can help them, they aren’t concerned where you’re from or what accent. And when people realize that you care, all the other stuff fades.”
Advantages of Coming From Beyond the NFL Bubble
Coming from outside the NFL bubble has its upsides. “I spoke in front of the whole squad soon after joining, and, as we left, one of our linemen asked me about the sport with me as he enjoys it. You make those connections and form friendships. People are genuinely curious. NFL organizations are varied than many think. We have people from all sorts of backgrounds, a range of experiences. Our saying at IPP was: ‘Be uncommon – you are different so lean into it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”
The NFL has been more successful at producing international supporters than nurturing foreign players. Jordan Mailata, a ex- rugby player from Australia who won the championship earlier this year with the Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have risen to the very top.
International Players and Their Paths
Foreign players have usually been kickers, recruited from other football codes. Howfield exchanged playing up front for Watford and Fulham for being a placekicker for the Broncos and Jets; Mick Luckhurst graduated from rugby in England to the Falcons team. If you aren’t aiming to be a special teams player and did not trained in the American system, it’s very challenging to make the leap to the NFL.
Ayo Oyelola, a native of London who was part of Chelsea’s academy before finding the sport at university, has achieved that. He competed in the CFL for the Blue Bombers before moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Steelers.
Maximilian Pircher’s experience is just as improbable. At over two meters and 23 stone, the from Italy was clearly not built for his preferred games, football and the sport, so took up the NFL in his teenage years. He impressed while playing for clubs in Austria 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 championship trophy as a member of the Rams training team. Pircher subsequently had periods on the periphery at the Detroit Lions, Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Minnesota Vikings at the end of August. He has been well-liked in every locker room but is hasn’t had game time on the gridiron. Is his status as a foreigner still a hurdle?
“It’s not really difficult, not an obstacle,” says the player. “We have players from various regions, so it doesn’t really matter. Initially, they inquire: ‘You got an accent – where are you from?’ But, after we have that figured out, we’re all friends. The Minnesota have a really welcoming environment, a great team, a top franchise.”
Although spending the majority of training with his fellow offensive linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the team dynamics at his clubs. “Obviously the O-line is always very tight because we are a group and altogether one, but we have mates from every position group. My close friend, Akers – my best man, actually – was a wide receiver at the LA. The long snapper from the Green Bay, Matt Orzech, is a close pal: we lived together for a while at the LA Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, special teams: we’ve have to be there for each other.”
Motivating the Next Generation
Pircher is conscious he represents more than just Italy and Austria. “I would say all the countries beyond the US. The more successful every IPP graduate performs, the more young people who participate in Europe, in Germany, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – 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 rewarding to encourage them to experience what I’ve experienced.”
The IPP graduates are all invited to Florida annually to coach the next wave of potential NFL internationals. “Virtually everyone of us come back
