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While the US is a country of newcomers, the NFL is still led by American-born athletes. Only 5% of players are foreign-born, and the majority of them enter the sport by attending university in the United States. True international figures are unusual, and foreign coaches are especially rare, which makes James Cook’s journey remarkable.

Cook’s Unlikely Path to the NFL

Cook has been in charge of athlete growth at the Browns organization. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary given he was raised in Surrey, is in his twenties, and never played professional sport. Cook discovered 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 aspired to become the first NFL quarterback from Europe. He progressed to playing for Team GB, but his plans to attend university in the US proved too expensive.

“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Any time the NFL guys wanted me, I would adjust my shifts and help out. Being a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could pass. So when they trained with players, I’d appear all over London and throw the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d often get me lunch.”

This is where he met Aden Durde, who had stints with the Panthers and Chiefs during his playing days before he established the International Player Pathway programme in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora. When Durde became part of the coaching team at the Falcons, making history as the first-ever UK full-time coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable players,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who was selected by the Bills; Charlie Smyth, the specialist from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the Saints. I traveled to Australia to work with aspiring athletes from across the Pacific to introduce them to college football, similar to what I wanted to do.”

Transitioning to NFL Coaching

Similar to Durde before him, Cook made the jump from training international athletes to coaching in the NFL. “The Browns contacted me out of the blue,” he explains. “They had a hybrid role assisting younger players, optimizing time on the practice field, collaborating with physios, the head coach and general manager. It’s a really hands-on role, which is ideal for me. My background was guiding players from abroad who had never played the sport. Rookie newcomers also have to establish structure and routines: how to take care of their health and deal with a huge game plan. But also just being available for players. That’s the identical everywhere. And I love that.”

Does being an Englishman who did not compete in the NFL hold him back? “It’s more of a imagined barrier than an real one,” states Cook. “I get a lot of Lasso-style jokes and loads of players refer to me as ‘mate’ as they like that. It’s more about checking myself. I use ‘garbage can’ not ‘bin’. But we feel anxious or stressed about the same things and require support in the identical ways. If players understand you can assist them, they aren’t concerned about your origin or what accent. And when players know that you care, all the other stuff fades.”

Benefits of Being Beyond the NFL Bubble

Originating from beyond the NFL bubble has its upsides. “I addressed in front of the entire team very early on, and, as we walked out, one of our offensive linemen asked me about the sport with me as he enjoys it. You build those bonds and build relationships. People are truly intrigued. NFL organizations are more diverse than people think. We have staff from all sorts of backgrounds, a variety of upbringings. Our saying at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are different so embrace it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”

The NFL has been more successful at producing foreign fans than nurturing global talent. Mailata, a former rugby league player from Australia who won the Super Bowl earlier this year with the Eagles, is one of the few IPP players to have made it to the elite level.

Foreign Athletes and Their Journeys

Foreign players have typically been kickers, brought in from different sports. Howfield swapped soccer for English clubs for being a placekicker for the Broncos and Jets; Mick Luckhurst transitioned from rugby union in England to the 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 make the leap to the NFL.

Oyelola, a native of London who was part of Chelsea’s youth team before discovering the sport at Nottingham University, has made that step. He competed in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before moving to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Maximilian Pircher’s story is equally improbable. At over two meters and heavyweight, the from Italy was obviously not built for his favoured sports, soccer and handball, so started American football 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 2021.

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 fringes at the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Minnesota Vikings at the end of August. He has been well-liked in each team but is hasn’t had action on the gridiron. Is his status as a international player still a challenge?

“It’s not really difficult, not an obstacle,” notes the 26-year-old. “We have players from all different states, so it doesn’t really matter. At first, they inquire: ‘You got an accent – what’s your background?’ But, after we clarify that, we’re all friends. The Minnesota have a very inclusive environment, a great squad, a great organization.”

Despite devoting the majority of practice with his fellow offensive linemen, Pircher has immersed himself in the social mix at his clubs. “Naturally the O-line is consistently close-knit because we are a group and altogether one, but we have friends from every position group. My close friend, Akers – my best man, actually – was a receiver at the Rams. The long snapper from the Packers, Orzech, is a really good friend: we shared a home for a while at the Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, special teams: we’ve have to be supportive.”

Motivating the Future

Pircher is conscious he represents not only Italy and Austria. “In my view every nation outside the United States. The more successful each one of us does, the more young people who participate in Europe, in Germany, wherever, can realize: ‘Oh it is possible – if I put the work in every day, I can get somewhere.’ I have a lot of kids hitting me up, seeking tips. It’s rewarding to encourage them to pursue what I’ve experienced.”

The IPP graduates are all invited to the US each year to coach the new group of aspiring NFL internationals. “Virtually everyone of us come back