Denver Broncos add Emily Zaler to coaching staff

The Denver Broncos added Emily Zaler to the coaching staff for 2020.

The Denver Broncos are on the right side of history in 2020. Aside from how well the team has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team is also making huge strides in the equality movement. The Broncos announced on Saturday that the team has hired Emily Zaler as a full-time employee to work with the strength and conditioning staff.

Zaler is just the fourth female NFL coach, joining the likes of Katie Sowers, Maral Javadifar and Lori Locust, employed by the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers respectively.

If you were to check out Zaler’s LinkedIn profile, you would see an impressive resume. Zaler has 10+ years of experience in the coaching experience in strength, conditioning and more. She has served as a Performance Specialist, Director of Training, and Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach. She served in the latter role at both the University of California-San Diego and the New York Knicks, where she served in a seasonal role.

She has a Master of Science degree, specializing in strength and conditioning.

Zaler transferred over to the NFL in July, where she took on a temp role in the Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship, giving her an opportunity to take a role with the Broncos.

It didn’t take long for the Broncos to make her a full-time employee.

"“She’s knowledgeable, very passionate about strength and conditioning aspect. We’re happy to have her, and we’re going to keep her on for the entire season.”Vic Fangio (via Broncos PR)"

Zaler becomes the first female coach in franchise history, and it is beyond refreshing to see the team taking the right steps into what is becoming a more diverse and progressive NFL. Katie Sowers broke ground, and now qualified women are taking strides to make their mark in the NFL.

As a woman, this is obviously near and dear to my heart. The hiring of Emily Zaler, and other women in sports, will inspire women around the world to pursue their dreams, even if their dreams lie in a world that has largely been for men.

"“Over the last decade, I’ve been told more times than I can count that I would never have the opportunity to work in the NFL or the NBA because I’m a woman,”Zaler said via Yahoo! Sports"

And now, she has worked in both the NFL and the NBA.

"“There are a handful of women who have led the way for me that have had the opportunity and shown me that it is possible. I hope to do the same for the next generation of female strength and conditioning coaches who want to work in an elite male sport,”Emily Zaler"

Whether it’s coaching, media, management or leadership roles, women have fought hard to earn respect and opportunity in an industry comprised of only men for so long.

Women like Emily Zaler are living proof that women belong in sports, and it will be so exciting to see what she accomplishes with the Denver Broncos.