🔗 Share this article

While the US is a country of newcomers, the National Football League is still led by American-born players. Only five percent of players are foreign-born, and the majority of them step into the game by going to university in the US. Genuine international figures are rare, and foreign coaches are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s story remarkable.

James Cook’s Unlikely Journey to the League

Cook has been in control of athlete growth at the Browns organization. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary given he was raised in England, is in his late 20s, and did not participated in professional sport. Cook discovered the NFL as a teenager while surfing channels with his dad and came across what he described as a “weird and wonderful” sport. He began participating in his area and soon aspired to become the first NFL QB from Europe. He got as far as playing for Great Britain, but his plans to go to university in the US were financially prohibitive.

“I was scooping popcorn, cleaning seats, making burgers, doing a bit of everything. Any time the NFL guys wanted me, I would switch my schedule and assist. As a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could throw. So when they trained with players, I’d show up all over London and toss the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d usually get me lunch.”

It was here that he met Aden Durde, who had stints with the Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his playing days before he set up the International Player Pathway program in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora. When Durde joined the staff at the Falcons, making history as the first-ever British permanent coach in NFL history, Cook assumed control of the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some really interesting guys,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who got drafted by Buffalo; Smyth, the specialist from Ireland who’s now with the Saints. I traveled to Australia to train younger players from across the Pacific region to introduce them to college football, like what I wanted to do.”

Making the Leap to Coaching in the NFL

Like Durde before him, Cook made the jump from training international athletes to joining the NFL. “The Browns contacted me unexpectedly,” he says. “They had a hybrid role supporting younger players, optimizing time on the practice field, collaborating with medical staff, the coach and GM. It’s a very active position, which is ideal for me. My experience was guiding international athletes who had not played the sport. First-year rookies also have to establish habits and routines: learning to take care of their body and handle a massive playbook. But also just being available for players. That’s the identical everywhere. And I enjoy that.”

Is being an Englishman who never play in the NFL hold him back? “It’s more of a imagined barrier than an real one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of reverse Ted Lasso comments and loads of players call me ‘mate’ as they love that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I say ‘garbage can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we get nervous or under pressure about the similar things and need support 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 know that you are invested, all the other stuff fades.”

Benefits of Coming From Outside the NFL Bubble

Coming from outside the NFL bubble has its upsides. “I spoke in front of the entire team very early on, and, as we walked out, one of our offensive linemen asked me about rugby with me as he loves it. You make those connections and form friendships. Teammates are genuinely curious. NFL organizations are more diverse than people 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 celebrate.”

The NFL has been better at producing international supporters than developing foreign players. Mailata, a ex- rugby player from Australia who won the Super Bowl earlier this year with the Eagles, is one of the few IPP graduates to have made it to the very top.

International Players and Their Paths

International athletes have typically been kickers, brought in from different sports. Bobby Howfield swapped playing up front for English clubs for being a placekicker for the Denver Broncos and Jets; Luckhurst graduated from rugby union in St Albans to the Falcons team. If you aren’t aiming to be a kicker and did not educated in the American system, it’s very challenging to make the leap to the NFL.

Oyelola, a Londoner who was part of Chelsea’s youth team before discovering the sport at university, has achieved that. He competed in the Canadian Football League for the Blue Bombers before taking his talents to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pircher’s story is just as unlikely. At 6ft 7in and heavyweight, the from Italy was obviously not suited for his favoured sports, soccer and handball, so started American football in his late teens. He stood out while representing clubs in Europe and Europe, as well as the national side, and was offered a spot on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he held the championship trophy as a part of the LA Rams practice squad. Pircher went on to have spells on the periphery at the Detroit Lions, Seahawks and Commanders, before he signed with the Minnesota Vikings at the late summer. He has been well-liked in every locker room but is hasn’t had game time on the field. Is his status as a foreigner still a challenge?

“It isn’t difficult, not a barrier,” says the player. “We have players from all different states, so it isn’t an issue. At first, they ask: ‘You speak differently – where are you from?’ But, once we clarify that, we’re all friends. The Vikings have a very welcoming culture, a excellent squad, a top franchise.”

Although spending the majority of practice with his other offensive linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the social mix at his teams. “Naturally the offensive line is consistently very tight because we are a unit and altogether one, but we have friends from every position group. My close friend, Akers – my wedding witness, actually – played receiver at the LA. The long snapper from the Packers, Orzech, is a really good friend: we lived together for a while at the Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, special teams: we’ve got to be there for each other.”

Inspiring the Future

Pircher is aware he represents not only Italy and Austria. “In my view all the countries outside the United States. The more successful every IPP graduate does, the more youth who participate in Europe, in Europe, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – if I put the work in every day, I can get somewhere.’ I have a lot of youngsters hitting me up, asking for tips. It’s rewarding to inspire them to experience what I’ve experienced.”

The program alumni are welcomed to the US annually to train the next wave of potential NFL internationals. “Virtually everyone of us come back