Hot Take: Katie Sowers makes NFL history

At the 2020 Super Bowl, San Francisco 49ers assistant offensive coach Katie Sowers will make history as the first female and openly queer coach in Super Bowl history.

Last year, Katie spoke to Lindsay Gibbs on Burn It All Down Episode 98 about her trailblazing journey to the NFL. It's a great interview to revisit as part of your Super Bowl prep. Enjoy!

Transcript

Lindsay: Hey everyone. Lindsay here. The Super Bowl is this weekend, as you all might know, and history is being made. Katie Sowers is the first woman to ever coach in the Super Bowl, and the first ever out coach in the Super Bowl. So, she is an assistant offensive coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and we actually interviewed her on Burn It All Down back in episode 98. In honor of her big achievement, we wanted to replay that interview for you all today. So, here it is.


Lindsay: All right. This week I had the honor of talking with Katie Sowers. Katie is in her third season in the NFL is an assistant coach. She’s currently with the San Francisco 49ers as an offensive assistant. Katie played for eight years in the woman’s football alliance and she was a member of 2013 United States women’s national football team. In 2016, she started her NFL coaching career during the off season in training camp with the Atlantic Falcons. And then, she joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 on the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship where she started working with the team’s wide receivers. I wanna give a shout out, she’s going to talk in this interview about her uh, mentor Scott Pioli and how much he did for her career and we wanted to give a shout out to the Scott Pioli and Family Fund for Women Football Coaches and Scouts, which is a new fund that’s done in conjunction with the Women’s sports foundation. So, this is a great way to help aspiring female football coaches and scouts pursue an advanced careers and collegiate and professional football.

All right, I am so excited to be here with Katie Sowers, the brilliant one. And Katie, okay, as a woman who works in sports, I refuse usually to start questions with or starting interviews with how did you get into expo. But with football I feel like it’s a little bit different because women do not grow up typically playing the sport and it’s not kind of built into our college system. So, I’m gonna give myself a pass here and kind of start there. How did you get into playing American football? ‘Cause I know you were an athlete first before you became a coach.

Katie: Yeah. Well I appreciate you having me on the show as I don’t mind this question at all. Actually, am pretty used to answering it. Growing up I always really loved football. I don’t know what it was, but my twin sister and I would always play football in the backyard. I remember one of the best Christmas presents I ever received was back in the early ’90s, my parents knew how much my sister and I loved football and so they got us all these old used pads and helmets from the college.

My Dad was coaching women’s college basketball and probably to them they were like, “Well we’re getting rid of these.” But my twin sister and I, it was like one of the best gifts you could possibly give somebody. So, I always knew that football was a love and passion of mine, but I didn’t think that girls could play football. So, I even have some journal entries where I said, “Well, since I can’t play football, I guess we’ll play basketball.” I went on and played a number of different sports throughout college and came back and found a women’s tackle football league after college. And that’s how it got me back on the football path.

Lindsay: You ended up playing for the U.S. National team in football, which I think a lot of people don’t even know we have, but it’s so important. There’s a saying that you can’t be what you can’t see, and we certainly don’t see many on the NFL side lines. So, when did actually coaching in the NFL become a possibility for you?

Katie: It wasn’t until I saw Becky Hammon coaching in the NBA and that was when she first started this before there were any internships or anything going on with women in the NFL. I remember, at the time, I was coaching youth football, I was trying to get into coaching at some level. I was thinking basketball at that point because that was really what I had my mind set on since after moving on from football when I was young. But I saw her, and I remember posting on my Instagram, “NFL, I’m coming for you.” It was a picture of me coaching youth football at the time. That was the first moment where I had an aha moment. And it’s crazy with how passionate I was about football, how passionate I was about coaching, that it never registered to me that that could be a possibility for me. And seeing that really made it a possibility and I knew it was gonna happen.

Lindsay: That’s incredible. So, what year was that and how did you … ’cause I know you got eventually started with … it was a Scott Pioli Fellowship, I believe, with the Atlantic Falcons. So, what was the timeline from that Instagram post to getting that coaching fellowship?

Katie: That Instagram posts I believe was in 2014, I want to say. That should have been around the time Becky Hammon was starting in the NBA.

Lindsay: Yeah, that’s exactly the timeline. Yeah.

Katie: Yeah. So, it wasn’t until 2016 that I got the internship. I started coaching Scott’s daughter around that time, coached her for a couple of years and we just kept in contact. Scott ends up moving to Atlanta to be the assistant general manager for the Falcons. He was previously the former general manager for the Chiefs. We maintained this … he was my mentor, he was my friend, he was the guy that I went to, to talk to, to really get to know the NFL culture. Opportunities came up. He helped me get into the East-West Shrine Game and really helped to build my resume in the NFL and gain experience before I was actually thrown into that internship in Atlanta.

Lindsay: That’s incredible. I’d just love to hear that about that partnership ’cause I feel like oftentimes you hear like, oh they helped me, but it’s nothing. You don’t hear about these long-lasting connections that are really built. So, when you said you coached his daughter, was she playing in the football league, Youth Football League that you were coaching?

Katie: I actually coached his daughter in basketball. So, I was coaching both.

Lindsay: Wow.

Katie: Yeah, I was coaching youth in the fall and then it was that overlap where then basketball started. So, I would go from coaching. We actually did have a female on a team, but it was mainly eighth grade boys coaching football to fifth grade girl’s basketball, which was pretty fun. I enjoyed everything. I enjoyed everybody that I’ve met and it’s just crazy being … the things that happen and the people that you’ll meet and you never know when that that opportunity’s gonna come up where you know you’re … the whole time I thought I was coaching fifth grade basketball, I thought I was working towards a certain goal, but little did I know that that experience was gonna lead me to where I am today.

Lindsay: Wow. That is remarkable. What was the first moment on the sidelines of an NFL game? What are your first memories from that moment and how did you feel?

Katie: Actually, I remember walking out, it would have been at the Georgia Dome when I really, truly had my first experience. I remember walking out and it was almost a surreal moment where everything that I had dreamed about when I was little and I thought I never would get to achieve, the small things like looking around and seeing all these helmets that match and being on a, what I used to call in a journal, a real football team. I got to experience that a little bit while I played in the women’s league. They don’t offer the things that they offer and the experiences are not the same because the game is just not as developed, and hopefully it will get there, but the experience I had in that first NFL game was truly amazing. I remember just thinking I was doing it for that little girl back then and I was pretty excited to do that.

Lindsay: That’s really remarkable. Early on, when you were with San Francisco, I think it was a couple of years ago, you opened up about your sexuality, about being gay. Why was that important for you? Because you can think you’re already breaking so many barriers as a woman, might not want to draw a lot of attention to yourself. Why was it important for you to come out and make that statement and be true about who you were?

Katie: It’s never about coming out and making a statement. It actually just happened. I didn’t even know the story was gonna get as big as it did. It was just one of the things … I was dating somebody at the time. “Is it okay if we mentioned who you’re dating?” I said that’s fine. I’ve been out for a really long time so I didn’t see why I wouldn’t. I never wanted to hide that because the more authentic we are, the more real we are, first of all, the better workers we are, the happier we are, but the more the better coaches we are. Coaching is all about getting buy in and having people trust you and trust who you are. And if they don’t know who you are, then how can you really get that buy in from anybody? I just think being authentic is the best way to go and that’s what I did.

Lindsay: What is the reception locker room been? I’m a huge football fan. I grew up loving the Carolina Panthers, still do. I’m always told even that football isn’t a friendly place for women and that there’s a lot of homophobia in the sport. What have you experienced actually being there?

Katie: I have not received any homophobia or anything like that. I’ve had players that have gone out of their way to come into my office and tell me how important it is that that article came out, how cool it is. People have talked about their siblings being gay. I’ve had coaches talked to me about people in their family that are gay and just how important that is. So, it was a really, really good reception.

Lindsay: I love it. That’s so good to hear. It’s really heartwarming, especially like that they’ve gone out of their way to really make sure that you’re accepted and a part of this community. So, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned as a coach these past few years? Where’s your biggest growth come from?

Katie: I think a lot of the internal desire to get better. I think especially in the position that I’m in, we can often make excuses. Oh they don’t want me to do this because I’m a woman. Oh, I’m not getting opportunities. They haven’t come across this obstacle having a woman, locker rooms or whatever. Whatever it might be. But there’s a point where you have to stop making excuses and just get better. I remember I used to tell my dad … my dad he’s a retired coach, and I used to come home when I was young and say, “I feel so out of shape. The coaches aren’t running us enough.”

He would just look at me with no pity and just say, “Can you run on your own?” And I would say, “Well, yeah.” And he said, “So, I don’t want to hear you complain about it.” And that’s kind of the mindset. We live our whole lives, and we expect people to train us, but we are in charge of what we can control. So, that’s the main thing that I’ve learned is when it comes to learning this game, yeah, I don’t have the experience in terms of like, I didn’t get to watch film in college. I don’t have the network that a lot of people do, but that’s no excuse, and I’m just going to work even harder.

Lindsay: You brought up the locker rooms. I’ve written in tennis a lot. When Andy Murray had a female coach, he was like, “Everyone keeps asking me about the locker rooms, but it’s no big deal. We just meet outside the locker room. We just meet in the hallway.” But of course, football is, it seems like a lot more revolves around the locker room and since the whole team’s in there, has that been a barrier or has that been pretty easy to work around?

Katie: For me, it’s been very easy. There’s nothing to work, and I don’t want to say it’s because of my sexuality, so I don’t think it is at all. I think the locker room is a place for players, it’s a safe place for players. I think whether you’re a man or you’re a woman, it’s not a place for anyone who is not a player should really truly be hanging out. We are in there to do what we need to do and we get out. I think that’s the main thing. Sometimes that gets overlooked and you start to question, well, why can’t a woman be in there? Is it not safe for her? Is it uncomfortable for other people? The bottom line is that’s a safe place for players and it doesn’t matter what gender you are. We know our role and we know where we’re supposed to be.

Lindsay: It’s a workplace at the end of the day, right?

Katie: Absolutely.

Lindsay: Yeah. So, what is your career trajectory now? What are your goals going forward?

Katie: My goals are really just to continue to grow as a coach to create value in whatever position I’m in. I would love to be a head coach someday and that’s some time down the road, but I’m just going to take it day by day and continue to grow.

Lindsay: So exciting. Okay, final question, and this is a little bit embarrassing. So, I follow you on Instagram ’cause I love all the photos you post. You know how on Instagram it’ll show you, like if someone you followed liked something else?

Katie: Yeah.

Lindsay: So, that’s how I found now that you too watch the bachelor, so …

Katie: Yes, I do.

Lindsay: As do I. So, I have to ask you, what are your thoughts on the finale last night?

Katie: Oh man. So, it’s funny because I don’t watch live TV, I never have time, but I watch two things, I watch the bachelor and I watch NFL network. So, it’s quite the tandem do all right there. But I was in love with Cassie. I was in love with her from the very first moment that I saw her.

Lindsay: She’s gorgeous. Oh my gosh.

Katie: I think I even loved her before Colton did. So, I was pretty upset to see the ending to be honest, ’cause I was kind of hoping she would be single, but that’s not the case.

Lindsay: Yeah. I don’t know if I totally buy her full turn yet, but maybe that’s just the cynic in me. We’ll see. We’ll see how it develops.

Katie: More positive thinking for me. You never know.

Lindsay: I’m just trying to make things work out for you is what’s happening.

Katie: I wish them the best, but if it doesn’t, I’m always here.

Lindsay: Slide into those DMs as they decide.

Katie: Right.

Lindsay: Well, Katie. Thank you so much for being on burn it all down. You are an inspiration to all of us and I can’t wait to follow your career.

Katie: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Shelby Weldon