Career Alternatives for Attorneys: NFL Football Coach

How does one go from Harvard Law School to coaching an NFL football team? Let's find out!

Back in December, we told you about a football coach who had recently been fired from his position as a cornerbacks coach for West Virginia University. Back in 2010, we told you about this same football coach, because he’d recently been picked up to work for the Detroit Lions. There’s a reason we keep telling you about this football coach: it’s because he gave up what could have been a prosperous Biglaw career after graduating from Harvard Law School to work for free to pursue his dreams on the field.

Are you ready for some football?

Meet Daron Roberts. He’s currently the defensive quality control coach for the Cleveland Browns, but prior to his coaching endeavors, he was once a summer associate at Fulbright & Jaworski. Although Roberts once wanted to be a politician, or perhaps a Supreme Court justice, it was a Sports Law class taught by Professor Paul Weiler during his second year at Harvard Law that convinced him to switch gears. We suppose that you can go ahead and blame the good professor if the Browns have a subpar defensive performance in 2013.

So how did Roberts get his first coaching job without experience? And how did he survive working for the Kansas City Chiefs without being paid? Through a letter writing campaign and lots of prayer. (If only the same worked for today’s unemployed law grads.) Here are the details from Spencer Mazyck of Bloomberg Law:

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Amazingly, Roberts thinks that coaching football is analogous to the practice of law, and is “in no way different than crafting an appellate brief for the Supreme Court.” That’s an interesting take, and it’s one that we may have to attribute to the mass quantities of Red Bull he says he’s consumed during his time as a coach.

In addition to his time spent on the field, in 2010, Roberts founded a non-profit called 4th and 1 that combines football and academic skills training. Perhaps Roberts is busy grooming the next crop of Harvard Law-bound NFL coaches as we speak. If you’re interested in getting involved with this worthy cause, click here.

P.S. Coach Roberts, can you please get in touch with Andrew Sweat? We hear he may need a mentor.

Stealth Lawyer: Daron Roberts, Cleveland Browns Coach [Bloomberg Law via YouTube]

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of career alternatives
Sports Law, Spaw, Lorts: Pushed Off the Team, This Coaching Career Is About to Die
Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Football Coach

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