DOUG WILLIAMS
"From All-American Quarterback to Head Football Coach"

Grambling State University's Doug Williams finished six seasons as the "Head Tiger" and his golden touch has returned the magic to the renowned Kings of Black College Football after leading the team to three straight NCAA Division I-AA National Black College and SWAC Championships. He left the university in February 2004 to take on a new role as a Personnel Executive with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

History was made in December of 1997 when Williams returned to his alma mater to take over for retired legend Eddie Robinson as the first new head coach at Grambling for more than 50 years.

Williams was a natural for the position, having been the most prolific quarterback in Grambling State's history combined with an outstanding professional career. He brought a new sense of youth, vitality, intelligence and determination to the football program.

In addition, Williams also brought several intangibles to the football program, including his vast football knowledge built on a wealth of experience and a love for Grambling that is unmatched by anyone, anywhere.

Williams' impact on the football program was immediate as the Tigers went from a 3-8 record in 1997 to a 5-6 mark in his first season in 1998. His second season saw even more success as the Tigers finished with a 7-4 mark. Williams third season proved to be the charm with a 10-2 mark en route to their first SWAC title since sharing it with Alcorn State in 1994 and the first outright title since 1989. The Tigers were also named the 2000 National Champions in the NCAA Division I Black College Football Poll.

In 2001, Williams proved that the previous year's success was no fluke as he guided the Tigers to a 10-1 mark en route to both undisputed SWAC and National Black College championships.

In 2002, Williams completed the hat trick by leading Grambling State to its third straight SWAC and National Black College championships with an 11-2 record. At the conclusion each of those three seasons, the Tigers finished in the top ten in several national polls.

Also during this stretch, Williams brought home some serious Coach of the Year hardware such as the SWAC; 100% Wrong Club of Atlanta and the Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. SWAC Coach of the Year awards for three straight years. In addition, he was named the Street and Smith's Magazine Black College Coach of the Year (2000); Shutt Sports Division I-AA Coach of the Year (2000) and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network Black College Coach of the Year (2001,2002). All of this is a latest in a life filled with personal triumphs for Williams.

Throughout his career as Grambling State's head coach, the G-Men finished the season ranked in several Division I-AA football polls in 2000,2001,2002 and 2003.

Growing up as a young boy in the 1960s, Williams could only dream of the day he would get the chance to play in the NFL, let alone quarterback a team to a world championship and earn MVP honors. It was a day and age when black men and women gave up much just to achieve basic equality and imagining a black mas a leader of champions was only a dream in the minds of greats like Martin Luther King Jr. But he would end up turning that dream into his life's story.

Williams attended Chaneyville High School in Zachary, Louisiana in the early 1970s and became a star quarterback for the football team. He was recruited out of high school by Coach Robinson, who was coaching one of the most successful black college football programs at the time at Grambling State.

After spending time as a backup early on during his freshman year at Grambling, Williams finally got his chance to start in which he wasted no time in leading the team to victory in the fifth game of the season with a 21-7 victory over Tennessee State. In his first year as a starter, he would help to lead the team to a 10-2 record en route to the both the 1974 SWAC Co-Championship and the National Black College Championship. The Tigers were Williams' team from that point on as he would go on to start every game that he played at Grambling State. In his sophomore season as a full-time starter, he helped to lead the team to a 10-2 season en route to another National Black College Championship in 1975.

In his senior season of 1977, Williams' passing statistics were staggering in which he would lead the Tigers to a 10-1 record en route to both the SWAC and National Black College Championships while earning SWAC Player of the Year and All-America honors. As a direct result of his efforts, this vaulted him to a fourth place finish in the Heisman Trophy race behind the University of Texas running back Earl Campbell.

That spectacular college career earned Williams plenty of attention from NFL scouts and the changing times saw him get selected in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Williams turned in a strong career at Tampa Bay which included a playoff berth before the fledgling United States Football League gave the young signal caller the respect that he deserved for so long. The Oklahoma Outlaws signed him to a lucrative contract and showed a resounding vote of confidence in him as a true team leader in 1984. Williams led the Outlaws into first place before a knee injury sidelined him halfway through that initial USFL season. He played a second season with the Outlaws until the league suddenly folded in 1985.

In 1986, Tampa Bay traded the NFL rights to Williams to the Washington Redskins and a year later he shared the starting quarterback position with the Jay Schroeder. But it was Williams who shined in the postseason, leading the Redskins through the playoffs en route to a 42-10 Super Bowl victory the Denver Broncos in 1988. He was the first black quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl who made the most of a monumental opportunity by setting several Super Bowl passing records en route being named the game's Most Valuable Player.

"He was probably one of the most talented people I have ever seen," says former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. "Even when he was young, he was a natural leader."

Williams is a 1978 graduate of Grambling State who has four children, Ashley (21), Adrian (17), Doug Jr. (11) and Jasmine (10).