The New York Jets are on their way to making some serious franchise history this year.

Coaching internship

The Jets have made the decision to offer Collette Smith an internship as a coach for the defensive backs this summer. Collette will be the very first female coach for the Jets and the third female coach for the entire NFL. Smith follows behind Jen Welter who was a coach intern for the Arizona Cardinals back in 2015 and Kathryn Smith who got to spend last season as a quality control special team’s assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills. Smith, unfortunately, was not retained for the spot after the Bills decided to fire Rex Ryan.

Who is Collette Smith

Naturally, fans of the New York Jets have one question on their minds at this point. Who is this woman who is poised to assist in coaching the Jets this year? Fortunately, this is an experienced football fan who has a lot to bring to the table as the newest member of the coaching team for the Jets. Collette is a 44-year-old woman who has lived in Queens all of her life. She’s a lifelong Jets fan, and she’s currently both the marketing executive and coach of the New York Sharks. For those who don’t follow women’s sports, the Sharks are in the Independent Women’s Football League.

Collette told Daily News she was “over the top” with the offer. She claimed to be “proud” and “humbled” by the offer.

She said it only makes the offer better that it happened to come from her favorite NFL team. She joked about how bittersweet the offer would have been if it had came from the Patriots – but she still would have accepted it.

She was a football player

In addition to being a coach, Smith was also a player on the Sharks team for three years.

The only reason she had to walk away from the team was because she suffered a knee injury that was bad enough to force her off the field. After being forced off the field from her injury, she was offered a position as the assistant to the coach’s staff.

Smith got a taste of the life of a coach intern with her access to the practice field of the Jets last year.

This was actually how Collette ended up meeting the head coach of the team. This was when head coach Todd Bowels learned more about how serious this woman was about football. Bowels noticed how Collette gravitated towards the defensive backs and decided she should be doing more than just hanging out on the sidelines.

The real question is – what do you think about the Jets finally having a female coach? Could Collette Smith be just what the New York Jets need to have a great season?