Browns’ Callie Brownson will be the first woman to coach a position group in an NFL game

BarDown Staff

Callie Brownson

History is going to be made on Sunday, when Callie Brownson takes to the field as the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns.

Brownson’s appearance will make her the first woman to coach an NFL position group during a regular season game. She’s filling in for the team’s usual TE coach, Drew Petzing, who is with his wife for the birth of their child.

Browns’ chief of staff Callie Brownson will become the first woman to coach an NFL position group in a regular-season game today as she fills in for TE coach Drew Petzing, who is with his wife, Louisa, after she gave birth to the couple’s first child. Brownson is making history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 29, 2020

There have been a handful of female coaches who have been able to reach the NFL over the last few years, most prominently including offensive assistant Katie Sowers of the San Francisco 49ers who appeared in last season’s Super Bowl, and it’s great to see these pathways continue to open for women in the league.

Brownson’s historic appearance follows a similar milestone in college football on Saturday, when Vanderbilt soccer goalkeeper Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five college football game as the men’s team’s punter.