PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Brown Football announced today that Heather Marini has been promoted to Quarterbacks Coach, becoming the first female position coach in NCAA Division I football. Marini joined the Bears coaching staff in 2019 as Offensive Quality Control Assistant Coach. 
 
"Heather has earned the coaching position," said Brown head coach James Perry. "In one season with our program, Heather has done a great job for us. She has proven through her efforts in the office every day with us in an off-the-field role that she's ready to run the quarterback room."

Marini's story has been covered by the likes of The Athletic, Forbes and USA Today. 

As a position coach in charge of quarterbacks, Marini will work with the Bears offensive unit and specifically with Brown’s talented quarterbacks group, led by returning First Team All-Ivy quarterback senior EJ Perry. Perry led the nation and set an Ivy League record for total offense in 2019 and was named a finalist for the Bushnell Cup, presented annually to the Ivy League’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. 

Brown head coach James Perry has been a longtime advocate of promoting women into the college football coaching ranks.
 
"For the past three years, I've been fortunate to have three different women on my staffs, also including Phoebe Schecter and Sue Lizotte," said Perry. "Promoting Heather to our Quarterback Coach makes us a stronger program and I know she will be a pioneer in the expanding roles women have in collegiate football."
 
Marini joined Brown's coaching staff shortly after attending her first Women's Careers in Football now held at the NFL Combine. Prior to coaching at Brown, Marini worked with the New York Jets as a summer scouting specialist. 
 
A native of Australia, Marini earned a Bachelor of Emergency Health from Monash University and a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science at Deakin University. She worked with the Monash Warriors Gridiron Club as the head coach for three seasons and Quarterbacks Coach/Coaching Development for three years. 
 
Marini also played competitively for Gridiron Victoria Women's Tackle Football where she was the Rookie of the Year and First Team All-State, and Monash Warriors Women's Gridiron, where she was the team's offensive MVP, captain and quarterback.
 
Marini was the second full-time female football coach in NCAA Division I, following Dartmouth’s Callie Brownson, who spent the 2018 season as the Big Green’s Offensive Quality Control Coach. Brownson is now the Chief of Staff for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.