Jennifer Welter (born October 27, 1977) is an American football player and coach who was most recently a defensive specialist for the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).
She was a defensive coaching intern for the National Football League's Arizona Cardinals during their training camp and the 2015 preseason, making her the first female coaching intern in the NFL.
This is her third "first" for men's football in 2014 and 2015.
On February 12, 2015, Champions Indoor Football's Texas Revolution named Welter their linebackers and special teams coach making her the first woman to coach in a men's professional football league.
A year prior, the 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m), 130 lb (59.0 kg) Welter was signed by the Revolution as a running back.
This made her the second female player for a position other than kicker or placekick-holder on a men's professional football team, and the first at running back.
She is not the first female to play a male dominant sport; however, she is the second woman after ice hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser to play a "contact" position in a male dominant sport and the first woman in football to do so.Welter was featured in Mogul's #IAmAMogul campaign as part of Women's History Month in March 2016 for "changing the perception of what it means to be an NFL coach."