Katie Sowers, the first female NFL coach in the Super Bowl

Katie Sowers made history at Super Bowl LIV when she became the first female to coach in the game as an offensive assistant in Kyle Shanahan's coaching staff. In recent years, women have been gaining more space in the NFL, and Katie Sowers was the first to participate in the final.

Born in 1986, Katie Sowers started playing football at the age of 8. Her professional career in sports began at the Women's Football Alliance. As a defensive back, she became a world champion with the American team at the IFAF in 2013, retiring three years later due to a hip injury.

Her sister, Liz Sowers, currently plays football as a wide receiver.

Katie Sowers was the first LGBT coach in the NFL

Before making history and participating in the Super Bowl, Katie Sowers had already become a pioneer in 2017 when she publicly declared herself a lesbian. In doing so, she officially became the first LGBT coach to come out in the NFL.

This never seemed to be a burden to her and she publicly stated:

"I'm not trying to be the best female coach, I'm trying to be the best coach."

Super Bowl LIV - San Francisco 49ers v Kansas City Chiefs

Sowers' NFL coaching career began in 2016 when she was an assistant for the Atlanta Falcons during the team's training camp that year. The Falcons made the Super Bowl that season, but Sowers was not part of the coaching staff when the season started.

She then joined the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff in 2017, again working closely with Kyle Shanahan. After two years of working as an assistant only during the season, she was hired by the organization. Sowers became an offensive assistant to Shanahan, with her contract running until the end of the 2020 season.

🏈 It's #SuperBowl day, and this year's a special one! 🏈Today, @KatieSowers of @49ers becomes the 1st female member of an @NFL staff to coach in a Super Bowl. 👏👏 #WomenInSport via @espn https://t.co/TNgajeJ29F

— UN Women (@UN_Women) February 2, 2020

With Sowers overseeing the wide receiver group, San Francisco had one of the NFL's best offenses in 2019, a year marked especially by the rise of Deebo Samuel. The 49ers also had the best NFC record in the regular season and played in Super Bowl LIV, losing 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Curiously, after her contract ended, Katie Sowers became a coach with the Kansas City Chiefs although her position in the organization was not specified at the time of her hiring.