Jen Welter told SMU coaching students Wednesday afternoon that one of the most important traits of a good coach is being authentic.
Speaking to David Bertrand’s coaching and leadership class, Welter, the NFL’s first female coach, said former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn gave her the same advice: be 100 percent authentic. Being authentic was even more important to Welter’s success as a female coach in the NFL, but she said it’s important for all coaches to understand.
“If you’re fake, if you try to take on somebody else’s coaching persona, if you’re inauthentic in any way, those guys will sense it and eat you alive,” Welter said, recalling her conversation with Glenn.
Welter’s upbeat, enthusiastic personality was obvious from the start. She talked for 30 minutes and kept everyone listening throughout.
“I was really impressed with how fiery she was, she was full of energy,” said senior Chase Vandiver, one of Bertrand’s students. “She came out authentic.”
Welter, 37, coached inside linebackers with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2015 preseason as part of an internship. She said she hopes to inspire other women with a passion for football, but that wasn’t her goal when she took the position. In fact, her goal was simple: to be very good. If she wasn’t good, people would believe all of the stereotypes of a girl coach, like ‘NFL players will never listen to a girl.’
“To know that is what is on the outside, you have to realize that if you’re not very good, it not only doesn’t create opportunities for the future, it actually closes the door further for the next person,” Welter said.
Welter’s Ph.D in psychology helped her approach and motivate players with a different angle than most coaches. She gave an example from training camp. Newly signed running back Chris Johnson had just tweaked his hamstring and hadn’t learned the largely foreign playbook yet. Johnson was struggling, but Welter told him to think of his hamstring tweak as a blessing. Johnson gave her a confused look.
Welter explained that the injury gave him time to learn the playbook. NFL veterans told her that the worst thing that can happen to a player is getting put on tape before he is fully familiar with the playbook, because it gives the team an excuse to release him. The unfamiliarity with the playbook gives the team the impression that the player isn’t good, when he’s really hesitating because he’s not confident in what he’s doing.
“Let’s think of tweaking you’re hamstring, which is not serious, as a blessing and buying you a little time to learn this playbook. So when you do get back on the field, you can be the CJ2K that everybody wants to see,” Welter said.
Bertrand’s class challenges students to find their mission, talents and values as a coach, and Welter’s comments served as a perfect compliment and real-life example.
“What you [as a coach] bring to the table is unique, and coaches need to remember that,” said Bertrand, who is the director of the Sports Performance Leadership major in SMU’s Sports Management department. “Be yourself. Bring that. Even if it’s different.”
