🎙TFG Pod: Amy Palcic, First Female to Run an NFL PR Department
From the The Football Girl Podcast, hosted by Melissa Jacobs. Subscribe to get new episodes of the pod in your feed the second we publish – and if you like what you hear, please rate and/or review us!
Amy Palcic, the Houston Texans’ VP of Communications, is not fond of giving interviews. It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy people – she has a mountain of friends in NFL circles – it’s simply not in her nature or job function. “I’m a behind-the-scenes person. I think my gift is helping other people shine,” Palcic said in a rare, wide-ranging conversation.
Palcic is entering her sixth season as the PR head for the Texans, and in 2016 she made history by becoming the first woman to run an NFL communication department after Bob McNair gave her a promotion. She is keenly aware of the gender imbalance of women in sports and is proud that half of her staff is female, a ratio she strives to maintain. In this conversation, Palcic takes the listener inside her job including that monumental night when J.J. Watt decided to start a small fundraiser for Hurricane Harvey that ballooned into over $37 million. Palcic also offers great insight into the modern pr-media relationship and considers how men and women cover the sport differently.
Also in this episode, Melissa shares what is most exciting her about the upcoming NFL season (hint: think robust QB rooms). Later we name our first TFG Do-Gooder.
The Rundown:
4:45: Why the NFL’s QB future looks especially bright
8:40: On Ed Werder’s misguided blindness about general inequality in sports media
14:36: Amy Palcic joins!
16:20: Palcic on being a “female first”
17:37: Palcic on what the head of communications for an NFL team actually does
20:11: Palcic on the Texans high ratio of female executives
22:09: Palcic tells the crazy story of how J.J. Watt’s Hurricane Harvey relief efforts came to life
32:30: Palcic on why the NFL pr-reporter relationship has become more difficult
34:55: Palcic on the most difficult aspect of her job
37:03: Palcic on whether there is a difference between the way women and men cover the NFL
38:41: Palcic on the importance of women supporting each other in the NFL
41:50: Palcic on growing up the daughter of an NFL coach and whether she ever wanted to coach
42:50: Palcic’s advice for anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps.
44:47: Our debut Do Gooder of the Week is … Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin
NOTABLE QUOTABLES:
Palcic on an advantage for women who cover the NFL:
The women who cover the NFL, they’ve done their homework. I think women put people more ease and I honestly think that women can get more out of somebody than a lot of men can just by being a woman and being compassionate and a little softer and easier to talk to sometimes.
Palcic on growing up the daughter of an NFL coach:
I tell people this story. I was 5 years old, my dad was an offensive line coach. We went to every game obviously and I would ask my mom, ‘How many sacks did we have today?’ My mom would say, ‘They had 8 sacks today,’ and I would say, ‘Nobody talk on the car ride home. Dad’s going to be very mad.’
It’s funny, I loved this game and my dad said I could be anything I wanted to be. I never wanted to coach but he would have been supportive if I had wanted to and would have helped me find a way to do it.
MUSIC SELECTIONS:
Funky Cha Cha – Arturo Sandoval | Run the World (Girls) – Beyonce | Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz | Mr. Brightside – The Killers
