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While the United States is a country of newcomers, the National Football League is still led by US-born athletes. Only 5% of players are foreign-born, and most of them enter the sport by attending college in the US. Genuine outsiders are rare, and foreign coaches are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s journey exceptional.

James Cook’s Surprising Path to the League

For the past six months, Cook has been in charge of player development at the Cleveland Browns. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary given he was raised in England, is in his twenties, and did not played professional sport. Cook discovered the NFL as a teenager while channel-flicking with his father and stumbled upon what he described as a “strange and amazing” sport. He started playing in his area and soon aspired to become the first NFL QB born in Europe. He progressed to representing Great Britain, but his dreams to go to college in the US proved too expensive.

“I was scooping popcorn, cleaning seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people needed me, I would adjust my schedule and help out. As a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could throw. So when they trained with players, I’d appear all over London and toss the ball to them. I wasn’t 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 set up the International Player Pathway program in that year with two-time championship winner Umenyiora. When Durde joined the staff at the Falcons, becoming the first-ever British permanent coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable guys,” he says. “We had Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who was selected by Buffalo; Charlie Smyth, the specialist from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the Saints. I went to Australia to train younger players from around the Pacific region to introduce them to the US college system, like what I wanted to do.”

Transitioning to Coaching in the NFL

Similar to Durde before him, Cook made the jump from working with foreign players to joining the NFL. “Cleveland called out of the blue,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position assisting rookies, maximising time on the practice field, collaborating with physios, the coach and general manager. It’s a very hands-on position, which is ideal for me. My experience was working with international athletes who had never played the sport. Rookie newcomers also have to build habits and schedules: how to take care of their health and deal with a huge playbook. But also just being present for players. That’s the same across the board. And I love that.”

Does being an Englishman who never play in the NFL hold him back? “It’s more of a imagined barrier than an real one,” says Cook. “I get a lot of reverse Ted Lasso jokes and many players call me ‘mate’ as they like that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I use ‘trash can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we get nervous or stressed about the same things and require help in the same ways. If players understand you can help them, they aren’t concerned where you’re from or how you speak. And when people realize that you are invested, all the other stuff fades.”

Advantages of Being Beyond the NFL Bubble

Coming from beyond the American football world has its advantages. “I spoke 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 build relationships. Teammates are truly intrigued. NFL organizations are more diverse than people think. We have people from various origins, a variety of experiences. Our saying at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are unique so embrace it.’ It’s something to celebrate.”

The NFL has been better at producing international supporters than nurturing foreign players. Jordan Mailata, a former rugby player from Sydney who won the championship recently with the Eagles, is one of the few IPP players to have risen to the elite level.

International Athletes and Their Journeys

Foreign players have typically been kickers, brought in from different sports. Howfield exchanged playing up front for Watford and Fulham for becoming a kicker for the Broncos and New York Jets; Mick Luckhurst graduated from rugby in England to the Falcons team. If you do not want to be a kicker and did not educated in the American system, it’s extremely difficult to advance to the NFL.

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

Maximilian Pircher’s story is equally unlikely. At over two meters and heavyweight, the from Italy was obviously not built for his preferred games, football and handball, so took up the NFL in his late teens. He stood out while representing teams in Europe and Germany, as well as the Italy team, and was offered a place on the IPP in that year.

The following year, he held the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Rams practice squad. Pircher subsequently had spells on the fringes at the Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he signed with the Vikings at the end of August. He has been popular in every locker room but is hasn’t had game time on the gridiron. Is being a international player still a challenge?

“It’s not really difficult, not a barrier,” notes the 26-year-old. “We have players from all different states, so it doesn’t really matter. Initially, they inquire: ‘You got an accent – what’s your background?’ But, once we clarify that, we’re teammates. The Vikings have a really inclusive culture, a excellent squad, a top franchise.”

Despite spending most of practice with his other offensive linemen, Pircher has immersed himself in the team dynamics at his clubs. “Naturally the offensive line is always close-knit because we are a group and united, but we have mates from every position group. My best friend, Landen Akers – my wedding witness, in fact – played receiver at the LA. The long snapper from the Packers, Matt Orzech, is a close pal: we shared a home for a while at the LA Rams. QBs, defenders, special teams: we’ve have to be there for each other.”

Motivating the Future

Pircher is conscious he symbolizes not only Italy and Austria. “In my view every nation outside the US. The more successful each one of us does, the greater number of young people who play football in Italy, in Europe, anywhere, can realize: ‘Oh it is possible – if I dedicate myself consistently, I can succeed.’ I have a lot of kids contacting me, seeking tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to pursue what I’ve achieved.”

The IPP graduates are all invited to the US each year to train the new group of aspiring NFL internationals. “Almost all of us return