Congratulations! The wife of the head coach of the New York Giants has introduced another new Bounce, “babe…
Aside from Director of Coaching Operations Laura Young, who are the other women in prominent positions with the New York Giants, some of which are unusual for women in the league
Angela Baker is in her first season as the Giants’ offensive quality control coach. However, this does not imply that Baker is unfamiliar with football or coaching.
Baker is a seven-time All-American for the Pittsburgh Passion of the Women’s Football Alliance, a full-contact professional league. She started out as a quarterback before moving on to wide receiver. Baker has also won gold medals in the IFAF Women’s World Football Championship twice (in 2017 and 2022), representing the United States. She won two league titles for the Passion and was named Offensive Player of the Year in 2016.
Baker completed a coaching internship with the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and was the kickers, punters, and defensive quality control coach at the Division III University of Redlands in 2021.
Baker went out for the Passion during his undergraduate years in search of an athletic outlet.
“From there just kind of fell in love with the game, learning a lot of the schematics and the ins and outs and everything and all the depth that came with tackle football versus just the flag I had played growing up, started to really engulf my mind,” Baker told ESPN. “When I was in college, I was composing plays and studying them rather than studying what I was studying. It did consume my mind. And it captivated me, and before I realized it, I was hooked with learning, playing, and gradually figuring it out.”
Baker credited women like Jennifer King (the first woman to coach in the NFL, now with the Washington Commanders), Callie Brownson (chief of staff and assistant wide receivers coach for the Cleveland Browns), and Lori Locust (assistant defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) with inspiring her to pursue a coaching career.
“I thought that my only chance of being around football was going to be to play,” Baker said in a statement.
What exactly does a quality control coach do?
“We do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. We break down a lot of film, enter a lot of data, and construct practice plans with (Director of Coaching Operations) Laura Young, who does a lot of things to support us. And we sort of do whatever else the staff requires. “Anytime a position coach needs something in a cut-up or creating something for the players, they’ll come to us,” Baker explained. “I also deal with tight ends; many quality control coaches serve as assistants to position coaches. So I’m fortunate to be working with Andy Bischoff and learning a little bit from him. But a lot of our work is behind the scenes, helping the other coaches and making their jobs easier on a daily basis.”
Baker describes the Giants as a “comfortable” work atmosphere.
“It simply seems like it’s comfy here. Everybody in the building is incredibly supportive of the women in all of these positions; you don’t see anyone rolling their eyes, unkempt, or disturbed in any way,” Baker added. “The players, administration, and ownership have all accepted it. Nobody looks at you differently because you’re a woman in those roles; they rely on you just like they would anyone else. And merely working with Brian Daboll hand in hand, the way he depends on LY (Laura Young) and communicates with me is absolutely normal. “There are no differences for them.”
Baker described Daboll and GM Joe Schoen as “incredible” to work for.
“I think both of them, one of my favorite things about them — and I’ve said this in the past — is they just want the people to succeed,” said Baker. “They definitely want the people to be successful, which benefits the firm. But I’ve sat down with Dabes and talked about my route and how he can support me, and so on. He sees me not just as a worker, but also as a person.
“I believe they are significant, with the players, staff, coaches, and everyone else, in terms of developing individuals and building personal relationships. And I believe that is reflected throughout the architecture. Because of their nature, there is a lot more togetherness and a little bit more of a family atmosphere.”
Courtney Kennedy
