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Although the US is a nation of newcomers, the National Football League is still dominated by American-born players. Just five percent of players are born abroad, and the majority of them step into the sport by going to college in the US. True international figures are rare, and coaches from abroad are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s journey exceptional.

Cook’s Surprising Journey to the League

Cook has been in control of player development at the Browns organization. This is an accomplishment in itself, but it’s incredible given he grew up in England, is in his twenties, and never participated in pro sports. Cook first saw the NFL as a 12-year-old while surfing channels with his dad and came across what he called a “weird and wonderful” game. He began participating in his area and soon aspired to become the first-ever NFL QB from Europe. He progressed to representing Great Britain, but his dreams to go to college in the US proved financially prohibitive.

“I was scooping popcorn, wiping seats, making burgers, doing a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people wanted me, I would switch my schedule and help out. Being a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could pass. So when they trained with players, I’d show up around London and throw the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d often get me lunch.”

This is where he met Durde, who had stints with the Panthers and Chiefs during his career before he established the International Player Pathway programme in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Umenyiora. When Durde became part of the coaching team at the Atlanta Falcons, making history as the first British permanent coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable players,” he says. “We had Louis Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who was selected by the Bills; Smyth, the specialist from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the New Orleans. I went to Australia to train aspiring athletes from across the Pacific to introduce them to college football, like what I wanted to do.”

Making the Leap to Coaching in the NFL

Like his predecessor before him, Cook made the jump from working with international athletes to joining the NFL. “Cleveland contacted me unexpectedly,” he explains. “They had a hybrid role supporting younger players, optimizing time on the practice field, collaborating with medical staff, the head coach and general manager. It’s a really hands-on position, which is ideal for me. My background was guiding international athletes who had not played the game. First-year newcomers also have to build habits and schedules: learning to look after their health and deal with a huge game plan. But also just being present for players. That’s the same everywhere. And I enjoy that.”

Does being an Brit who did not play in the NFL hold him back? “It’s more of a imagined hurdle than an real one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of Lasso-style comments and loads of players refer to me as ‘bruv’ as they love that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I say ‘garbage can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we get nervous or stressed about the same things and need support in the same ways. If players understand you can help them, they aren’t concerned about your origin or what accent. And when people know that you are invested, all the rest melts away.”

Advantages of Being Outside the NFL Bubble

Originating from beyond the NFL bubble has its advantages. “I spoke in front of the whole squad very early on, and, as we left, one of our linemen wanted to talk rugby with me as he loves it. You build those bonds and build relationships. Teammates are truly intrigued. NFL organizations are varied than people think. We have staff from all sorts of backgrounds, a variety of experiences. Our saying at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are different so lean into it.’ It’s something to celebrate.”

The NFL has been better at producing foreign fans than nurturing global talent. Mailata, a former rugby player from Australia who claimed the championship recently with the Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have risen to the elite level.

Foreign Athletes and Their Journeys

Foreign players have typically been specialists, brought in from other football codes. Howfield swapped playing up front for Watford and Fulham for becoming a placekicker for the Broncos and New York Jets; Luckhurst transitioned from rugby in St Albans to the Atlanta Falcons team. If you do not want to be a special teams player and did not trained in the American system, it’s very challenging to advance to the NFL.

Ayo Oyelola, a native of London who played for Chelsea’s youth team before finding the sport at university, has achieved that. He played in the Canadian Football League for the Blue Bombers before moving to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Maximilian Pircher’s experience is just as improbable. At 6ft 7in and 23 stone, the Italian was clearly not built for his favoured sports, football and handball, so took up the NFL in his teenage years. He stood out while playing for teams in Europe and Europe, as well as the Italy team, and was given a place on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he had his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a part of the Rams practice squad. Pircher subsequently had spells on the periphery at the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Commanders, before he signed with the Vikings at the end of August. He has been popular in each team but is yet to see action on the field. Is his status as a foreigner still a challenge?

“It’s not really difficult, not a barrier,” notes the 26-year-old. “We have players from various regions, so it doesn’t really matter. Initially, they ask: ‘You got an accent – where are you from?’ But, once we have that figured out, we’re teammates. The Vikings have a really welcoming environment, a great team, a top franchise.”

Although devoting most of training with his fellow offensive linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the team dynamics at his clubs. “Obviously the O-line is always close-knit because we are a group and united, but we have friends from all positions. My best friend, Akers – my wedding witness, actually – played receiver at the LA. The specialist from the Packers, Matt Orzech, is a close pal: we lived together for two years at the LA Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, specialists: we’ve got to be supportive.”

Motivating the Next Generation

Pircher is conscious he symbolizes not only his home countries. “In my view all the countries outside the US. The better every IPP graduate performs, the more young people who participate in Italy, in Europe, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – if I put the work in consistently, I can get somewhere.’ I have a lot of youngsters hitting me up, seeking tips. It’s nice to encourage them to pursue what I’ve achieved.”

The program alumni are all invited to Florida annually to train the new group of potential NFL internationals. “Almost all of us return