Katie Sowers made history by becoming the first full-time female and openly gay coach in the NFL when she was promoted to an offensive assistant coach position with the 49ers in 2019.
However, she and the team will part ways after four years with the organization, Sowers confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan on Thursday morning.
The news was first reported by Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.
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Sowers spent four seasons with San Francisco, starting in 2017, when she served as a seasonal offensive assistant. She also became the first female coach to ever be in the Super Bowl last February, when the 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami.
Sowers gained respect from the players she worked with, including veteran cornerback Richard Sherman, who said after the Super Bowl loss that the historic hire wouldn’t be the last.
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San Francisco 49ers
"I think it's something that I notice and I care about, but I don't try to overacknowledge it because it should be that way," Sherman said.
"So, if you treat it like a norm, then you can't try to treat it any different because it should be how it is everywhere. It should be about who does the job the best. Not if you're a man, a woman; if you're black, white, orange, pink yellow. Whatever it is.”