Bucs and Arians hire two female coaches; make history as first team to do so

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made history by becoming the first NFL team with two female coaches on staff.

The team added Maral Javadifar as assistant strength and conditioning coach and Lori Locust as assistant defensive line coach. Both are the first full-time female coaches in the franchise's history.

"I know how hard it can be to get that first opportunity to coach at the highest level of professional football," said Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians. "Sometimes, all you need is the right organization to offer up the opportunity. The Glazer family and our general manager, Jason Licht, were extremely supportive of my decision, and I know Maral and Lori will be great additions to my coaching staff.

"I have known Lori going back to my days at Temple University and I've seen firsthand just how knowledgeable and passionate she is about this game. I was equally impressed with Maral's background in performance training and physical therapy and I know she will be a valuable asset to our strength and conditioning program."

Lori Locust began coaching football more than a decade ago, logging time at the high school, semi-pro and arena-league levels. She joins the Bucs staff after working as the defensive line coach for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football during the league's inaugural season this spring. In 2018, Locust previously worked as an intern for the Baltimore Ravens during training camp after applying for the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship, which the NFL created to promote and improve the league's racial and gender diversity.

Javadifar most recently worked as a physical therapist at Avant Physical Therapy in Seattle, after completing her Sports Physical Therapy Residency at Virginia Commonwealth in August of 2018. Prior to her time at VCU, Javadifar worked as a physical therapist and performance trainer in Virginia, while also serving as a guest lecturer at George Mason University. A native of Queens, New York, Javadifar played basketball at Pace University in New York City. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology from Pace, Javadifar then earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from New York Medical College.