In what was already a historic night capping a once-in-a-lifetime season, the Buccaneers’ 31-9 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV carried even more significance. With the victory, assistant coaches Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar became the first women coaches to win a Super Bowl championship in league history.
Locust, an assistant defensive line coach, is in her second season with Tampa Bay, and helped guide a unit that hounded Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes all night. Javadifar is an assistant strength and conditioning coach, and is also in her second year with the franchise.
Locust has coached as an intern with the Ravens and has also been an assistant in the Alliance of American Football and National Arena League. Javadifar played college basketball at Pace University and has a doctor of physical therapy degree from New York Medical College.
Locust and Javadifar were not the only women to make history on Sunday, as Sarah Thomas became the first woman referee to officiate a Super Bowl. Thomas became the first permanent female official in NFL history in 2015 and has worked full-time in the league since.
Just over a year ago, 49ers’ offensive assistant Katie Sowers became the first woman (and first openly gay) coach in Super Bowl history.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has stressed diversity and inclusion in assembling his staff, with Locust and Javadifar as examples. Tampa Bay’s offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators are all Black, as is assistant head coach and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin.
