Autumn Lockwood, the First Black Woman Coach to Win a Super Bowl, Is the Champion We Need Right Now

We’ve reached the end of another week. But before we clock out for the weekend, we’re giving credit where it’s due. Autumn Lockwood, an associate performance coach for the Super Bowl-winning Eagles, is the latest champion in our Winner of the Week series.

The Eagles didn’t just win the 2025 Super Bowl; they absolutely destroyed the Chiefs. And like any success, it was a team effort, but we do want to single out our MVP: Autumn Lockwood, an associate performance coach and the first Black woman to coach an NFL team to a Super Bowl win. (She became the first Black woman to coach at a Super Bowl when the Eagles took on the Chiefs in 2023.)

Lockwood is a Pennsylvania native with a Master’s degree in sports management from East Tennessee State, per her Eagles bio. In 2024, she spoke to the NSCA Podcast about the mentality that took her from a soccer-playing criminal justice student to an up-and-coming NFL legend (she’s only 31!). “Getting in the door, it’s all about that opportunity and what you do with that, and how you show up every day…once you’re there, it’s really, OK, I’m going to observe everything. I’m going to be a sponge. I’m going to be so hands-on. I’m going to be an extra set of hands. I’m going to do everything that I can to help this team, this staff, all these departments that go into building a championship culture,” she said. Consider that done.

This is a tremendous accomplishment and a step forward for the NFL, an organization that has traditionally lagged behind evolving cultural norms. “Her groundbreaking victory represents a seismic shift in a league that has long struggled with representation,” Kimberly Wilson wrote in Essence. “In a sport where coaching staffs have been overwhelmingly male and white, Lockwood’s success carves a path forward for Black women aspiring to break barriers in professional football.”

Lockwood’s achievements are all the more inspiring given our current political climate. There was no shortage of misogyny at the 2025 Super Bowl, between Taylor Swift’s chilling reception to the gross, sexist commentary surrounding Serena Williams halftime show cameo, so it’s a treat to see a young Black woman literally winning in a male-dominated space.

Following her historic win, Lockwood made sure to give props to the other women who support the Eagles players, and for once, we don’t mean the WAGs. Quarterback Jalen Hurts famously has an all-female management team, and the rest of the team is equally bolstered by women at the top of their fields. “The Eagles Gals 💚👑🦅 So beyond grateful to be surrounded by this incredibly inspiring group of women on the daily! 💐✨” Lockwood posted on Instagram, tagging seven other women who bring their skills and expertise to improving player performance.