When Felicia Teeter decided to start coaching football, her children thought she was having a midlife crisis.
"Why didn't I just go get a convertible?" Teeter, who is now 58 years old, said her kids asked. It was her son, Henry, who was expected to make it to the NFL since he played collegiately at Texas Tech. But she just spent a month working with the New York Jets as a Soldiers to Sidelines intern.
Prior to diving into the X's and O's of football, Teeter served in the U.S. Military for 30 years, with 10 years of active service in the army and 20 years of civilian work for the Department of Defense. Soldiers to Sidelines is an organization that provides training and resources to veterans looking to step into coaching.
"I've always been kind of an aggressive person so football is actually a very good fit for me personality wise," Teeter said. "I love this environment. I don't have to do a filtered, watered-down version of myself."
Teeter talks really fast. She's full of energy and that's not surprising because football coaches typically are. You don't have to be a coach to become a leader, but being a leader certainly helped Teeter become a coach.
"I'm a big believer in leadership is leadership is leadership, it doesn't matter the environment," Teeter said. "As long as you're a passionate and genuine leader, I think that's what matters."
Teeter joined the Jets coaching staff during Phase 3 of their offseason program, assisting running backs coach Nic McKissic-Luke, and learning from offensive coordinator Frank Reich and head coach Aaron Glenn.
"Sitting in on all the discussions and listening to the film review … there's no way you don't get better," said Teeter.
Since the Jets already installed most of their new schemes in offseason Phases 1 and 2, Teeter had some catching up to do because of her desire to not only grow as a coach, but also leave an impact during her time at 1 Jets Drive.
"I didn't want to be a robot like I'm just here taking knowledge," Teeter said. "I wanted to find a way that I could help make it better, like how can I help? I'm not someone who just wants to sit there and watch, I want to be helping."
Every night Teeter would study the playbook and come to the facility each morning with new questions. Over time, those questions dwindled, but she always remained curious. As a member of several coaching organizations, she always attends as many conventions and meetings as she can just to get better.
"That's the thing I love about football, you're learning all the time," Teeter said.
Her coaching career started with middle school and high school teams in Lubbock, TX, before moving to Kansas to start a women's flag football team at Bethel College.
"All my military experience, like planning, resourcing, understanding how to build a program, sustain a program, like those are all transferable skills," Teeter said. "You definitely need those in a head coach, especially a head coach starting up a new program, a new sport."
Now she's the running backs coach at John Carroll University, a Division III program in Ohio, and she became the first female coach in program history. JCU is also starting a flag football program this year that Teeter will also coach.
Regardless of her coaching title, Teeter wants to develop her players into better people who take ownership and understand the importance of accountability in all aspects of their lives.
"They're not going to be better leaders if I don't spend the time to check them when they don't do what they're supposed to do," Teeter said. "I always tell them, I'm passionate but it's never personal. That's just my style."
