Brown hires Heather Marini as QBs coach, making her first female position coach in D-I history

We may be months away from resuming football activities due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Brown University was still able to make some college football history on Monday.

The school announced that it has promoted Heather Marini to quarterbacks coach. Marini, who worked with the Bears as an offensive quality control coach in 2019, becomes the first woman to hold an on-field coaching role in the history of Division I football.

“Heather has earned the coaching position,” Brown head coach James Perry said in a press release. “In one season with our program, Heather has done a great job for us. She has proven through her efforts in the office every day with us in an off-the-field role that she’s ready to run the quarterback room.”

A native of Australia, Marini arrived at Brown last year after working with the New York Jets as a summer scouting specialist and attending the Women’s Careers in Football at the NFL combine. Marini was the head coach of the Monash Warriors Gridiron Club, a Melbourne-based football club, for three seasons. She also played competitive women’s football in Australia.

Marini will lead a quarterback room that returns EJ Perry, a first-team all-Ivy League selection in 2019. Perry, who started his career at Boston College, threw for 2,948 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while also leading the Bears with 730 rushing yards.

Marini is the third female coach to work for Perry, including two others during his stint as head coach at Bryant University.

"For the past three years, I've been fortunate to have three different women on my staffs, also including Phoebe Schecter and Sue Lizotte," Perry said. "Promoting Heather to our quarterbacks coach makes us a stronger program and I know she will be a pioneer in the expanding roles women have in collegiate football."

Brown went 2-8 in 2019, Perry’s first season as head coach at his alma mater.

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