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This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (October 2008) |
 Doug Williams (center) at a fundraiser in the home of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Bruce Allen, May 2008. |
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| Born | August 9, 1955 Zachary, Louisiana |
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| Career information | |||
| Year(s) | 1978–1989 | ||
| NFL Draft | 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17 | ||
| College | Grambling State | ||
| Professional teams | |||
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As Player
As Coach
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| Career stats | |||
| TDs-INTs | 100-93 | ||
| Passing Yards | 16,998 | ||
| QB Rating | 69.4 | ||
| Stats at NFL.com | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Douglas Lee Williams (born August 9, 1955 in Zachary, Louisiana) is a former American football quarterback. Williams was best known for his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos. He is, to date, the only African American quarterback who has won the Super Bowl.
Contents |
Career
College career
Doug Williams attended Grambling State University. After being red-shirted for his 1973 freshman season, Doug Williams became starting quarterback at Grambling State midway through the 1974 season. As quarterback, he led Grambling State to three Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships[1] and three Black College National Championships. For his outstanding senior season of 1977, Williams finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting and was an Associated Press first-team All-American. Williams finished his college career with a 35-5 record and set numerous school records. Doug Williams graduated in 1977 with a BS in health and physical education and was drafted as the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[2]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Williams was drafted in the first round (17th overall) of the 1978 NFL Draft, chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Grambling State University. He led the Bucs to three playoff appearances and one NFC title game from 1979 to 1982. His 31-34-1 regular season record, and 1-3 playoff record made him the best quarterback in Buc history. The Bucs, who had never been to the playoffs before Williams arrived, had gone to the playoffs three times in four years and played in the 1979 NFC Championship Game. Williams improved his completion percentage each year with the Bucs, but was regarded as the heart and soul of the team, and the driving force behind the winning.
However, during his tenure in Tampa, Williams was only paid $120,000 a year—far and away the lowest salary for a starting quarterback in the league, and behind 12 backups. After the 1982 season, Williams asked for a $600,000 contract. Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse refused to budge from his initial offer of $400,000 despite protests from coach John McKay. While Culverhouse's offer was still more than triple Williams' previous salary, he would have still been among the lowest-paid starters in the league. Feeling that Culverhouse wasn't paying him what a starter should earn, Williams bolted to the upstart United States Football League. The next year the Bucs went 2-14, and they would not make the playoffs again for 14 years until after the 1997 season, and lost ten games in every season but one in that stretch. Many Bucs fans blame Culverhouse's refusal to bend in the negotiations with Williams as a major factor. Culverhouse's willingness to let Williams get away over such a relatively small amount of money was seen as particularly insensitive, coming only months after Williams' wife Janice died of a brain tumor.[3][4]
Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws
Williams quickly signed with one of the USFL's expansion teams, the Oklahoma Outlaws. He would lead his team in passing completing 261 out of 528 passes for 3,084 yards and threw 15 touchdowns, yet he also threw 21 interceptions, ending up with a passer rating of 60.5, during his team's dismal 6-12 season. In 1985, when his team moved to Arizona and fused with the Arizona Wranglers to become the Arizona Outlaws, Williams showed some improvement, completing 271 out of 509 passes for 3,673 yards with 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, ending up with a 76.4 passer rating. However, his Outlaws' just missed the playoffs with an 8-10 record.
Washington Redskins
After the USFL shut down in 1986, Williams returned to the NFL, joining the Washington Redskins at the behest of Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who had been the offensive coordinator at Tampa Bay when Williams was there.
Initially Williams served as the backup for starting quarterback Jay Schroeder, but after Schroeder became injured, Williams stepped in and led the Redskins to an opening-day victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. It would be one of three times in 1987 that Williams subbed for Schroeder and led the team to victory (the other two were 11/15 vs. Detroit and 12/26 at Minnesota). Williams only started two games, 9/20 at Atlanta and 11/23 vs. the Rams. While both starts were losses, at the end of the season, when the Redskins had qualified for the playoffs, Williams, with his 94.0 passer rating, was chosen as the starter. He led the team to Super Bowl XXII in which they routed the Denver Broncos, becoming the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, and as of Super Bowl XLIII, the only black quarterback to win one. Although an urban legend holds that Williams was asked on Media Day, "How long have you been a black quarterback?" the story is untrue. [5][6][7]
Facing legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, Williams engineered a 42-10 rout, in which the Redskins set an NFL record by scoring five touchdowns in the second quarter. Williams completed 18 of 29 passes for 340 yards, with four touchdown passes, and was named Super Bowl MVP.
The Super Bowl was clearly the high point of Williams' NFL career. He suffered from injuries the following season, and was outshone by Mark Rypien, who eventually won the starting job from Williams. Despite competing for the same starting job, Williams and Rypien were so supportive of each other that T-shirts were sold with the caption "United We Stand", depicting the two quarterbacks as cartoon characters with Williams saying "I'm for Mark" and Rypien saying "I'm for Doug".[8] Williams would play one final season in 1989, as backup to Rypien, during the latter's first Pro Bowl season.
Williams retired with a 5-9 record as Redskins starter (8-9, counting playoffs) and a 38-42-1 record as a regular season starter (42-45-1, including 7 playoff starts). He had 100 passing touchdowns, and 15 rushing touchdowns, in 88 NFL games.
On the day before Super Bowl XXII, Williams had a six-hour root canal surgery performed (under full anaesthetic) to repair an abscess under a dental bridge. The pain of this condition caused him to having not slept for several days, as reported in the book "Hit and Tell:War Stories of the NFL"(/K.Lynch, Foghorn Press).
Coaching career
Williams started off his college head coaching career at Morehouse College in 1997. He also has previous NFL experience as a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995 and as offensive coordinator for the Scottish Claymores of the World League of American Football in 1995, and tutored running backs for Navy in 1994. Williams also excelled on the high school level as head coach and athletic director at Point Coupee High School in New Roads, Louisiana in 1991, and in 1993, he was head coach at Northeast High School in his hometown of Zachary, Louisiana, where he guided the team to a 13-1 record and the state semifinals.
Williams became the head football coach at Grambling State University in 1998, succeeding the legendary Eddie Robinson. He led the Tigers to three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles from 2000-2002, before leaving to rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive.[9]
At the conclusion of Super Bowl XLII, on the 20th anniversary of being named Super Bowl XXII MVP, Williams carried the Vince Lombardi trophy on to the field for presentation to the winning New York Giants.
Williams was promoted to the position of director of professional scouting in February 2009.[10]
Personal
He and his wife, Raunda, have six children: Ashley, Adrian, Doug, Jr., Jasmine, Laura and Temessia. His son Adrian is an accomplished basketball player who currently plays for Brown University.
References
- ^ http://www.swac.org/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/swac/genrel/auto_pdf/09champs
- ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/doug-williams
- ^ Scheiber, Dave. "So Who's Laughing Now?" St. Petersburg Times. 26 Jan 2003
- ^ Lieber, Jill. "Well-Armed Pioneer". Sports Illustrated. 1 Feb 1988
- ^ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/football/orl-bianchi3007jan30,0,2539978.column?track=rss
- ^ http://www.snopes.com/sports/football/williams.asp
- ^ http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020105/woo_17840492.shtml
- ^ Richman, Michael. The Redskins Encyclopedia. Temple University Press, 2007.
- ^ http://gramblingfootball.blogspot.com/2006/08/grambling-greats-doug-williams.html
- ^ Bucs Promote Williams, Hire Several Assistants Yahoo Sports, February 3, 2009
External links
- Was Doug Williams asked "How long have you been a black quarterback?"
- Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation
- Tampa Bay Buccanneers staff biography
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gary Huff |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Starting Quarterbacks 1978-1982 |
Succeeded by Jack Thompson |
| Preceded by Jay Schroeder |
Washington Redskins Starting Quarterbacks 1988-1989 |
Succeeded by Mark Rypien |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by Phil Simms |
NFL Super Bowl MVPs Super Bowl XXII, 1988 |
Succeeded by Jerry Rice |
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