Autumn Lockwood, the Philadelphia Eagles’ assistant performance coach, will become the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl when she joins the team for the upcoming Super Bowl LVII championship.
#FlyEaglesFly coach Autumn Lockwood is set to make #SuperBowl history. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/mvopRhlSLv
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 1, 2023
According to Fansided, Lockwood is on her way to her first Super Bowl experience as a coach after working with the Eagles since August 2022.
She is a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) member and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) (NSCA).
Lockwood has worked as an assistant football strength coach at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, as a graduate assistant on the ETSU strength and conditioning staff with the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and as the head of Arizona’s in-season cheer team’s warm-up and strength training.
Lockwood’s accomplishments include being a member of Arizona’s women’s soccer team from June 2012 to January 2014.
Lockwood graduated from the University of Arizona in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in psychology. East Tennessee State University awarded her a master’s degree in sports management.
Her position as a coach in this year’s Super Bowl LVII also makes her the fourth woman in Super Bowl history.
As part of the NFL’s efforts to diversify the organization, this year’s championship experience will include other notable Black women, such as Nicole Lynn, who HowAfrica previously reported will become the first Black woman agent to represent an NFL quarterback in the Super Bowl.
According to Yahoo Sports, the NFL’s mission to change its culture stems from the 2016 controversy surrounding the treatment of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial inequality.