Former Grambling quarterback, coach and Super Bowl champion Doug Williams has been promoted to senior vice president of player personnel for the Washington Redskins, the team announced on Tuesday.
In 1987 Williams became the first African-American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, and went on to win the MVP of Super Bowl XXII throwing for 340 yards while leading a 42-10 victory over Denver.
Williams entered the NFL out of Grambling in 1978 after leading the Tigers to three National Black College Championships and two SWAC titles, he also finished fourth in the 1977 Heisman Trophy voting. Williams was 35-5 as a starter in college and passed for more than 8,000 yards. He was drafted in the first round by Tampa Bay and also spent time in the USFL before being traded to Washington in 1986.
As a head coach Williams is better known from his days on the sideline at Grambling, but he actually got his first head coaching job in the SIAC, leading Morehouse in 1997. A year later he landed at Grambling, coaching the Tigers on two separate occasions, from 1998-2003 and then again from 2011-2013. Williams, the most famous Grambling football player in the eyes of many, had his ups and downs replacing the legendary Eddie Robinson. During his first stint at GSU Williams led the Tigers to three consecutive SWAC championships from 2000-02, also winning conference coach of the year each of those seasons.
His second time around, Williams won another SWAC championship in 2011 before things ended on a bitter note. He was fired from the program on September 11th, 2013 during the infamous season when Grambling players boycotted a game versus Jackson State, protesting budget cuts that had left facilities and game logistics in disarray. Grambling football has returned to prominence in the four years since and Williams maintains his status as a cornerstone of the program’s illustrious history.
Williams has been in the Washington front office since 2014, he also spent five seasons as personnel executive with Tampa Bay from 2004-2008 before becoming the team’s Director of Pro Personnel for the 2009 season.
Williams was serving as a senior executive and this promotion now bumps him up to Senior Vice President of Player Personnel. Williams was already working with talent evaluation, but the new job will now give him a leadership position. Williams will oversee the entire talent evaluation department along with working alongside the coaching staff to determine the needs of the organization.
It’s nice to see what Doug has accomplished. They should be proud of him at Grambling . Coach Robinson Would. A lot of Pride at our HBC’s . I played at Kentucky State and it’s a honor to say that . Thorobred Luv Doug ðŸŽ