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Although the United States is a nation of immigrants, the NFL is still dominated by US-born players. Just 5% of players are born abroad, and most of them step into the game by going to college in the US. True outsiders are unusual, and foreign coaches are particularly rare, which renders James Cook’s journey remarkable.

James Cook’s Unlikely Path to the League

For the past six months, Cook has been in charge of player development at the Cleveland Browns. That’s an achievement in itself, but it’s extraordinary given he was raised in England, is in his late 20s, and never played professional sport. Cook discovered the NFL as a teenager while channel-flicking with his father and came across what he called a “strange and amazing” game. He started playing in his area and soon wanted to become the first-ever NFL quarterback born in Europe. He got as far as representing Great Britain, but his plans to go to college in the US were too expensive.

“I scooped popcorn, cleaning seats, making burgers, handling a bit of everything. Whenever the NFL people needed me, I would switch my schedule and help out. Being a quarterback, the one thing I had was I could throw. So when they worked out with players, I’d appear all over London and toss the ball to them. I didn’t get paid, but they’d often buy me lunch.”

It was here that he met Durde, who had periods with the Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs during his playing days before he established the IPP program in that year with two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora. When Durde joined the coaching team at the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first British permanent coach in NFL annals, Cook assumed control of the IPP. “I had a lot of fun with it, coaching some really interesting guys,” he says. “We had Louis Rees-Zammit; Clayton, who got drafted by Buffalo; Charlie Smyth, the specialist from the Emerald Isle who’s now with the Saints. I went to Down Under to work with aspiring athletes from around the Pacific to introduce them to college football, like what I wanted to do.”

Making the Leap to NFL Coaching

Similar to his predecessor before him, Cook transitioned from working with foreign players to joining the NFL. “Cleveland called unexpectedly,” he says. “They had a multi-faceted position assisting younger players, optimizing efficiency on the practice field, collaborating with physios, the coach and general manager. It’s a very active role, which is ideal for me. My background was guiding players from abroad who had not played the sport. First-year rookies also have to build structure and schedules: learning to take care of their health and deal with a massive playbook. But also just being available for players. That’s the same across the board. And I enjoy that.”

Does being an Englishman who never play in the NFL a disadvantage? “It’s largely a perceived barrier than an actual one,” states Cook. “I’ve had a lot of Lasso-style comments and many players refer to me as ‘bruv’ as they like that. It’s more about monitoring my language. I use ‘trash can’ not ‘bin’. But we get nervous or stressed about the same things and require support in the same ways. If players know you can assist them, they aren’t concerned where you’re from or what accent. And when people know that you are invested, all the rest fades.”

Advantages of Coming From Outside the NFL Bubble

Coming from beyond the NFL bubble has its upsides. “I spoke in front of the whole squad very early on, and, as we left, one of our linemen asked me about rugby with me as he loves it. You make those connections and build relationships. People are truly intrigued. NFL buildings are varied than many think. We have people from all sorts of origins, a variety of experiences. Our mantra at IPP was: ‘Be uncommon – you are different so lean into it.’ It’s something to be proud of.”

The NFL has been more successful at producing international supporters than nurturing foreign players. Mailata, a former rugby league player from Sydney who won the Super Bowl earlier this year with the Philadelphia Eagles, is one of the few IPP graduates to have made it to the elite level.

International Athletes and Their Journeys

Foreign players have typically been kickers, recruited from other football codes. Bobby Howfield swapped soccer for English clubs for becoming a kicker for the Broncos and New York Jets; Luckhurst transitioned from rugby union in England to the Atlanta Falcons team. If you aren’t aiming to be a special teams player and did not trained in the American system, it’s very challenging to make the leap to the NFL.

Ayo Oyelola, a Londoner who was part of Chelsea’s academy before discovering American football at university, has achieved that. He played in the CFL for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before moving to the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Maximilian Pircher’s experience is just as unlikely. At 6ft 7in and 23 stone, the from Italy was clearly not built for his favoured sports, soccer and the sport, so started American football in his late teens. He stood out while playing for teams in Austria and Germany, as well as the Italy team, and was given a place on the IPP in that year.

A year later, he held the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a part of the LA Rams training team. Pircher went on to have periods on the periphery at the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, before he joined the Minnesota Vikings at the late summer. He has been well-liked in each team but is yet to see game time on the gridiron. Is his status as a international player still a hurdle?

“It isn’t difficult, not a barrier,” says the player. “We have players from various regions, so it doesn’t really matter. At first, they ask: ‘You speak differently – what’s your background?’ But, after we have that figured out, we’re teammates. The Minnesota have a really welcoming environment, a great squad, a top franchise.”

Although spending the majority of practice with his other offensive linemen, Pircher has thrown himself into the team dynamics at his teams. “Naturally the O-line is consistently very tight because we are a group and altogether one, but we have friends from every position group. My best friend, Akers – my wedding witness, actually – played receiver at the Rams. The specialist from the Green Bay, Matt Orzech, is a close pal: we shared a home for a while at the Rams. Quarterbacks, defenders, specialists: we’ve have to be there for each other.”

Motivating the Future

Pircher is conscious he represents more than just his home countries. “I would say all the countries beyond the US. The more successful every IPP graduate performs, the greater number of young people who participate in Italy, in Europe, anywhere, can realize: ‘It can be done – if I put the work in consistently, I can get somewhere.’ I have a many youngsters contacting me, seeking tips. It’s nice to encourage them to experience what I’ve experienced.”

The program alumni are all invited to Florida annually to train the next wave of aspiring NFL outsiders. “Almost all of us come back