Arizona Cardinals hire Jen Welter as first female NFL coach

Jen Welter will help coach Arizona Cardinals inside linebackers this summer -- and she’ll be making history in the process.

The Cardinals announced Monday they have added Welter to their staff as a coaching intern during training camp and preseason. It is believed she is the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL.

“Coaching is nothing more than teaching,” Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians told the team’s website Monday. “One thing I have learned from players is, ‘How are you going to make me better? I don’t care if you’re the Green Hornet, man, I’ll listen.’ I really believe she’ll have a great opportunity with this internship through training camp to open some doors for her.”

Welter, who will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday, this year was an assistant coach of the Indoor Football League’s Texas Revolution, working with linebackers and on special teams. She was believed to be the first woman to coach in a men’s pro football league.

“She came for an OTA and I met her, and I thought she was the type of person that could handle this in a very positive way for women and open that door,” Arians said.

Earlier this year, the NFL hired its first female on-field official.

Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesFarmer

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