When the final seconds of Super Bowl LIX ticked down, and the Eagles crowded the field as confetti rained down, one Philadelphia coach on the sidelines was celebrating for a very particular reason. At that moment, Autumn Lockwood, associate performance coach for the Eagles, became the first Black female coach to guide her team to a Super Bowl win.
She is one of only two Black women in NFL coaching roles, and one of only 15 women in general, a statistic that comes out to a staggering 1% of all coaching roles in the male-dominated organization. Jennifer King, Lockwood’s fellow Black female NFL coach, works as the assistant running backs coach with the Chicago Bears.
The trailblazing Lockwood specializes in strength and conditioning work. According to Sports Illustrated, she got her start with the NFL when she worked for the Atlanta Falcons in 2019. Prior to her work in the NFL, Lockwood earned her master’s in sports management from East Tennessee State University. Lockwood also worked on the sidelines during the Eagles’ 2023 Superbowl appearance.
Following the Super Bowl win, Lockwood posted her social media and said, “I’m in complete awe of this team, this organization, and this city. If you only knew the testimonies that came in to creating something so special it would bring you to tears. We’re going to get to reflect and relive every moment for the rest of our lives. Beyond grateful to be a part of it all.”
According to Essence, Lockwood’s “groundbreaking victory represents a seismic shift in a league that has long struggled with representation.” While the majority of NFL coaching staffs, and 100% of NFL head coaches, continue to be made up of men, Lockwood’s part in this year’s Superbowl is a win for women coaches across the league and all professional sports. She knows that female representation -- and Black female representation -- in the league is not perfect yet, but Superbowl LIX was a big step forward
