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While the US is a nation of immigrants, the National Football League is largely led by American-born players. Only 5% of players are born abroad, and the majority of them enter the sport by attending college in the United States. Genuine outsiders are rare, and foreign coaches are particularly scarce, which renders James Cook’s story remarkable.

James Cook’s Unlikely Journey to the NFL

For the past six months, Cook has been in control of athlete growth at the Browns organization. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but it’s extraordinary considering he was raised in Surrey, is in his late 20s, and never played professional sport. Cook discovered the NFL as a teenager while channel-flicking with his father and came across what he called a “weird and wonderful” game. He started playing locally and quickly aspired to become the first-ever NFL QB born in Europe. He progressed to playing for Great Britain, but his plans to attend university in the US were financially prohibitive.

“I scooped popcorn, cleaning seats, flipping burgers, handling a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people needed me, I would adjust my schedule and assist. Being a quarterback, the key skill I had was I could pass. So when they trained with players, I’d show up all over London and throw the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d usually buy me lunch.”

It was here that he encountered Durde, who had stints with the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his career before he set up the International Player Pathway programme in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Umenyiora. When Durde joined the staff at the Falcons, becoming the first British full-time coach in NFL history, Cook took over the IPP. “I enjoyed a lot of fun with it, coaching some remarkable guys,” he recalls. “We had Rees-Zammit; Travis Clayton, who was selected by Buffalo; Smyth, the kicker from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the New Orleans. I went to Down Under to train younger players from across the Pacific to get them into college football, like what I wanted to do.”

Transitioning to NFL Coaching

Like Durde before him, Cook made the jump from working with international athletes to coaching in the NFL. “Cleveland called unexpectedly,” he explains. “They had a hybrid role assisting rookies, maximising time on the practice field, working closely with medical staff, the coach and GM. It’s a really active position, which is ideal for me. My background was guiding players from abroad who had not played the sport. Rookie rookies also have to build habits and routines: learning to look after their body and handle a massive playbook. But also just being present for guys. That’s the identical across the board. And I love that.”

Is being an Englishman who did not play in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s largely a perceived barrier than an real one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of Lasso-style jokes and loads of players call me ‘mate’ as they love that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I say ‘trash can’ not ‘rubbish bin’. But we get nervous or under pressure about the same things and require help in the identical ways. If players know you can assist them, they aren’t concerned where you’re from or how you speak. And when players realize that you care, all the other stuff melts away.”

Advantages of Being Beyond the US System

Originating from beyond the NFL bubble has its upsides. “I spoke in front of the entire team very early on, and, as we left, one of our linemen wanted to talk the sport with me as he loves it. You build those bonds and build relationships. People are genuinely curious. NFL buildings are varied than many think. We have staff from all sorts of origins, a variety of experiences. Our mantra at IPP was: ‘Stand out – you are different so lean into it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”

The NFL has been better at producing foreign fans than nurturing foreign players. Mailata, a former rugby league player from Sydney who won the Super Bowl recently with the Eagles, is among the rare IPP graduates to have made it to the very top.

International Players and Their Paths

Foreign players have typically been kickers, brought in from other football codes. Howfield swapped soccer for English clubs for being a placekicker for the Denver Broncos and Jets; Luckhurst graduated from rugby union in England to the Falcons team. If you aren’t aiming to be a special teams player and did not educated in the American system, it’s very challenging to make the leap to the NFL.

Oyelola, a Londoner who was part of Chelsea’s academy before discovering the sport at Nottingham University, has achieved that. He competed in the CFL for the Blue Bombers before moving to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Maximilian Pircher’s story is equally unlikely. At over two meters and 23 stone, the Italian was clearly not suited for his favoured sports, soccer and handball, so started the NFL in his teenage years. He stood out while representing teams in Austria and Germany, as well as the national side, and was offered a place on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he had his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a member of the LA Rams training team. Pircher subsequently had periods on the fringes at the Detroit Lions, Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Vikings at the late summer. He has been popular in every locker room but is yet to see action on the field. Is his status as a international player still a hurdle?

“It’s not really difficult, not an obstacle,” notes the 26-year-old. “We have players from various regions, so it doesn’t really matter. Initially, they inquire: ‘You speak differently – what’s your background?’ But, after we have that figured out, we’re teammates. The Minnesota have a really inclusive culture, a excellent team, a top organization.”

Despite spending most of practice with his other linemen, Pircher has immersed himself in the team dynamics at his clubs. “Naturally the offensive line is consistently close-knit because we are a unit and united, but we have friends from every position group. My best friend, Akers – my best man, actually – was a receiver at the Rams. The long snapper from the Green Bay, Matt Orzech, is a really good friend: we shared a home for a while at the LA Rams. Quarterbacks, defensive linemen, special teams: we’ve got to be supportive.”

Inspiring the Future

Pircher is conscious he represents not only his home countries. “In my view all the countries beyond the US. The better every IPP graduate performs, the greater number of youth who participate in Italy, in Europe, wherever, can realize: ‘Oh it is possible – if I put the work in consistently, I can succeed.’ I have a lot of kids hitting me up, asking for tips. It’s rewarding to inspire them to experience what I’ve experienced.”

The IPP graduates are all invited to Florida annually to train the next wave of aspiring NFL outsiders. “Virtually everyone of us return