Brown University announced Monday that the football team promoted Heather Marini to the quarterbacks coach position, making her the first female position coach in Division I football.
“Heather has earned the coaching position,” Brown head coach James Perry said in a release announcing the move. “In one season with our program, Heather has done a great job for us. She has proven through her efforts in the office every day with us in an off-the-field-role that she’s ready to run the quarterback room.”
Marini first joined the football staff as the offensive quality control assistant last year.
“For the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to have three different women on my staffs, also including Phoebe Schecter and Sue Lizotte,” Perry said. “Promoting Heather to our Quarterback Coach makes us a stronger program and I know she will be a pioneer in the expanding roles women have in collegiate football.”
Marini, an Australia native, previously worked in the NFL for the New York Jets as a summer scouting specialist — and coached in Australia for the Monash Warriors Gridiron Club.
Brown joins Ivy League rival Dartmouth in having a woman employed on the football staff. Callie Brownson serves the Big Green as a quality control coach, and was the first full-time female football coach in D-I, according to a release.
