'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABxAAAgICAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgMBBAAFERIGEzEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGEQACAgIBBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMhAAQSBhEiQVH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AJWHlGxvju7pAhSqmrcAgARPsZAglRTHEdOsN+xOVapT1teqhL6qTatQCw4UPBEMcTOMZG7Msi8AHYDgpo/RifU8jyyyOxs7+wK8aVY+wr0M/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel made history by signing Lori Locust to his coaching staff as a defensive assistant. Locust is the first female coach in Titans' history. Locust entered the NFL in 2018 as an intern for the Baltimore Ravens. She was also the assistant defensive line coach for the AAF’s Birmingham Iron.
Locust joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff in 2019 as a defensive assistant and helped lead one of the league's most outstanding defensive fronts. In her four seasons with the Buccaneers, she was part of the staff when the team won Super Bowl 55 in the 2020 season. Lori Locust was let go this offseason by the Buccaneers in a coaching staff turnover by head coach Todd Bowles.
Locust played in a semi-pro women's football league as a defensive lineman for the Central Pennsylvania Vipers before coaching in the NFL. She played four seasons before suffering a career-ending knee injury. The defensive assistant was the only female defensive coach in the NFL last season. Locust and her NFL coaching career got started back when she was with the Iron.
The journey of Lori Locust as an NFL coach
In 2019, Lori Locust sat in front of a laptop wondering how to word an email that could help her change the course of her career. While still an assistant with the Iron, she headed her email to then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians with an interesting subject line.
The line said:
“Thirty-six years later, I’d love to work for you.”
Locust was a student at Temple in 1983 when Arians took over the school's football program and interacted with him on several occasions. During a 15-year ascension through the coaching ranks that spanned across the country and through all levels of the sport, Locust learned the importance of finding creative means to stand out.
The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native got a response to her email, spoke with Arians, and soon found herself on his coaching staff. Lori Locust has made history once again with the Tennessee Titans.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Penn Live and H/T Sportskeeda.
