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11/18 08:42 CST The Colts' Isabel Diaz rose quickly to become 1 of 11 women with full-time coaching jobs in the NFL The Colts' Isabel Diaz rose quickly to become 1 of 11 women with full-time coaching jobs in the NFL By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer A craving for doughnuts helped introduce Isabel Diaz to football as a kid in kindergarten. Quickly, she was hooked --- on the NFL, not the sugary treat. Now Diaz is in her third season with the Indianapolis Colts as the Harriet P. Irsay Fellow. She assists special teams coordinator Brian Mason and senior assistant special teams coach Joe Hastings with practice and game planning. The Colts are 8-2 and lead the AFC South going into an important matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) this week. Diaz's journey began at her grandparents' house in a Dallas suburb. "My mom is a flight attendant, so I spent my weekends with my grandparents," Diaz said. "And my grandpa used to sit at the kitchen table with a newspaper and doughnuts. And sure enough, the doughnuts got me. And next thing you know, I'm looking at the standings, looking at all the fun team names. And that's where my love really fostered. ... And then it went to the couch, watched Fox NFL Sunday with the crew. And I just fell in love. I loved it so much. And I loved that it was also something that my grandpa and I shared together. I was begging my grandparents to keep me up through the Sunday night game. My mom, she got invested in it. So it was super fun." Diaz said her mother wouldn't let her play tackle; flag football wasn't prominent like it is now. So, she decided at an early age that she wanted to coach. She was involved in football in high school and earned her bachelor's degree in sport and coaching science with a minor in sport management from Oklahoma State. She served in various roles with the football team in college, including as an undergraduate assistant for the defense from 2021-23, where she assisted with the scout team, created practice scripts, helped with game planning and charted plays on game day. From 2019-21, Diaz was a videographer for the football and women's soccer programs. She filmed game days for both teams as well as practice for football. "I kept asking for that next step and then eventually by my senior year, I had a seat at the table," Diaz said. "My desk was literally at the defensive staff table in the defensive staff meeting room. And that's just because I asked questions. I wasn't afraid to speak up for myself because you're the only advocate for yourself. Obviously, you're gonna get people behind you that support you, but they have to believe that you can do it and believe that you really truly want to do it and be here for the right reasons. "I love the game just like anybody else. And that's why I'm here, because I love the game and I love everything that it stands for and what it is, and it's a team sport and we're all doing it together. And to see right now the success that we're having, I've seen it grow and I've seen us find that culture and that groove, and here we are, like we're winning games. We're doing a great job. That's why we're here. Whether you're a female, a male, wherever you came from, we're all doing it together." NFL officials frequently state that increasing opportunities for women and minorities is a priority. The league's annual Women's Forum held at the scouting combine in Indianapolis is a main initiative. Over the past five years, there has been a 289% increase in women in football operations and coaching roles. A total of 358 women are in football operations and coaching roles this season. Diaz is one of 11 female full-time coaches. She participated in the forum multiple times. It was held via Zoom in 2022 when she landed the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with the Washington Commanders under former coach Ron Rivera. "He really preached about the value of having different voices and experiences and opinions within a room," Diaz said. "They asked for my opinion. They had me do projects. I was just as involved as a quality control coach in some way, obviously smaller roles and capacity, but I was very involved and got to have really great experiences and get my feet wet." Diaz was still a senior in college when she spent that offseason and training camp in Washington. She met Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon at the Women's Forum in 2023, and the Colts ended up offering her the inaugural Harriet P. Irsay Fellowship. "It was just one of those moments that was like, wow, I'm really doing this," Diaz said about getting the call while she was sitting in a classroom. "I'm 22 years old, I'm graduating college and I'm coaching in the NFL. And to hear about the Irsay family and how much it meant to them, and it was all about finding the right candidate, this organization, it's incredible. It means so much to be a part of it. "It means even more now seeing Carlie and her sisters as our owners and being our stewards. And there's not enough words to say how grateful I am and how much this organization means to me." ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL