How long has Kevin Maxen been dating his boyfriend? NFL's first openly gay male coach’s inspiring story explored

Jacksonville Jaguars strength coach Kevin Maxen has been dating his partner Nick for over two years. The experienced Jaguars backroom staff is the first male coach in American sports history to come out as gay in active service.

Before joining the Jaguars, Maxen was a strength coach with the football teams at Baylor and Vanderbilt. He has also had internships as a strength coach at the University of Iowa and Army.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars, Maxen works with the offensive and defensive linemen on designing their entire workout plan. That entails planning exercises, weights and recovery to achieve their goals. He also travels to games with the team. He is an integral part of the franchise's backroom staff, and his fellow coaches have only had positive things to say about his time with the franchise.

However, before Kevin Maxen, a few female assistant coaches in the NFL have been publicly out, most notably former San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers. Curt Miller is an out-male coach in the WNBA. Maxen joins their ranks, as they go a long way in making professional sports more inclusive.

Kevin Maxen's football career

Before coaching, Maxen was a standout linebacker for Western Connecticut State University, a Division III program playing in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, where he earned first-team defense honors his senior season. He played all 30 games during his three years there, leading the team in tackles for two seasons and finishing his career with 171 total tackles.

He was a decent college prospect, and the only thing that probably stopped him from making the NFL was playing in a Division II program. However, that didn't stop him from pursuing a career as a coach at the college level and later at the professional level.

Kevin Maxen's professional coaching career

Kevin Maxen interned with the Army and University of Iowa before getting his first coaching experience in college football. Before joining the Jaguars, he was a strength coach with Vanderbilt and Baylor.

After his spell with Vanderbilt and Baylor, he joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as an associate strength coach. The coaching staff, including Maxen, played a role in the team making it to the playoffs after back-to-back seasons of being the worst team in the league.

Maxen recently credited Carl Nassib, the first openly gay NFL player, and the Jaguars franchise for encouraging him to break the news. He has received incredible support from the NFL ever since.