“You’re always going to come across somebody, at some point in your career, that doesn’t really think you belong there [but] you’ll come across way more that think you do-which is the great part about where the sport is heading.” - Venessa Hutchinson

I talked with Venessa Hutchinson, the NFL’s Senior Manager of Football Development, about a wide-range of topics relating to the NFL's diversity in hiring practices, specific to women in football. We discussed her career path- demanding respect from predominantly male coworkers and former players, learning the game of football so intricately without playing it so competitively, and the most rewarding part about being an integral piece of the NFL's league office.

Most importantly, we'll discuss the Annual Womens’ Careers in Football Forum:

• Qualifications to get accepted into the program
• About 100 participants from the Forum have been hired- a testament to the networking available at the Forum
• Ways to make yourself, a potential candidate, stand out to a team
• Which coaches absolutely jump at the opportunity to come to the Forum and cultivate a culture of tolerance for women in football?
• In which areas would you like to see the program grow?
• Women in media branch to it soon?

We'll also tackle:

• Scouting
• The eventuality of a woman making a team: and will it be Carli Lloyd?
• The viability of canceling the entire preseason schedule
• Roster repercussion concerns for an entirely scrapped preseason: bubble guys and rookie quarterbacks

• Will there, one day, be a “Rooney Rule” for women in football?

• What do head coaches like Ron Rivera and Mike Vrabel do to set up cultures of tolerance in their own locker rooms?

The 3 “arms” of NFL Football Operations

1. Player Safety: Potential adjustments to the draft and the scouting combine to make sure that all players, including those in COVID-affected collegiate programs
2. Officiating: My solution- is making officials full-time employees of the league an option?
3. Long-Term Success of the league: plan of action to include female fans

LISTENER QUESTIONS:

• Bill in Massachusetts: How far away are we from seeing a woman in the NFL as a player?
• Jay from New Jersey: Who of your peers, maybe even from the Women’s Careers in Football Forum, whose impact we need to know more about?
• Jim from Massachusetts: When do we see the first female offensive or defensive coordinator in the NFL?
• Bob from Nutley: Does the NFL really think it could keep all players, coaches, and staff COVID-free?

More info: https://operations.nfl.com/football-ops/economic-social-impact/womens-careers-in-football-forum/