Maral Javadifar enters her sixth season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, and her third as the team's director of rehabilitation/performance coach.
In her current role, Javadifar leads the rehabilitation of injured players, while continuing to focus on the Buccaneers' collaborative efforts to maximize athlete performance.
Skilled in the interplay between rehabilitation and training, she believes in an athlete-centered model that is focused on maximizing the potential of each player. She has a background in different forms of manual medicine, load management, physical assessments and motor learning. As a member of the Buccaneers Super Bowl-winning team in 2020, she joined Assistant Defensive Line Coach Lori Locust as the first women on an NFL coaching staff to win a Super Bowl.
Since arriving in Tampa, Javadifar has supported the annual NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum, helping to connect and inspire female candidates currently working in college football roles with coaches and executives at NFL clubs. She has also encouraged participation in the Buccaneers Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic – the largest girls flag football tournament in the country.
Javadifar completed her sports physical therapy residency at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to her time at VCU, Javadifar worked as a performance physical therapist in the Virginia/DC area.
A native of Queens, New York, Javadifar played college basketball at Pace University in New York. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in molecular biology from Pace, Javadifar then earned her doctor of physical therapy degree from New York Medical College.