Doug Williams (football player)

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Doug Williams
Doug Williams as featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Date of birth	July 28, 1955 (age 51)
Place of birth	Zachary, Louisiana
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Grambling State
NFL Draft	1978 / Round 1/ Pick 17
Career Highlights
Awards	Super Bowl XXII MVP
Honors	1 Super Bowl ring 70 Greatest Redskins
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1978-1982 1986-1989	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Washington Redskins
College Hall of Fame

Douglas Lee Williams (born July 28, 1955 in Zachary, Louisiana) is a well-known American football quarterback. Williams was best known for his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos.

Contents 1 NFL career 1.1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1.2 Washington Redskins 2 College Coach 3 External links

[edit] NFL career

[edit] Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Williams was the 17th overall pick of the 1978 NFL Draft, chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Grambling State. He led the Bucs to three playoff appearances and one NFC title game from 1979 to 1982, but an acrimonious contract dispute with owner Hugh Culverhouse led Williams to leave the Bucs and the NFL to play in the United States Football League. 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. The Bucs would not make the playoffs again until after the 1996 season, and lost 10 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.

[edit] 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 quarterbacks coach at Tampa Bay when Williams was there.

Initially Williams served as the backup for starting quarterback Jay Schroeder, but after Schroeder became injured, Williams ended up starting the last games of the 1987 regular season. When the Skins made the playoffs, Williams, with his 94.0 passer rating, remained 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 so far the only black quarterback to win one. On Media Day, Williams was reportedly asked one of the most famous questions in Media Day history: "How long have you been a black quarterback?" Although the question has become legendary, the story is seemingly an urban legend, sprung up from a misunderstanding of some of the questions Williams was asked. [1] [2]

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 TD 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 outshined by Mark Rypien, who eventually won the starting job from Williams. Williams would play one final season in 1989, as backup to Rypien, during the later's first Pro Bowl season.

Williams retired with a 6-8 record as Redskins starter (9-8, counting playoffs) and a 37-42-1 record as a regular season starter (41-43-1, including 7 playoff starts). He had 100 passing touchdowns, and 15 rushing touchdowns, in 88 NFL games.

His throwback jersey remains one of the most popular jerseys sold by the Washington Redskins.

On the day before Super Bowl XXII,Williams had 6 hours of mouth surgery(under full anaesthetic) to repair an abcess under a dental bridge, having not slept for several days, as reported in the book "Hit and Tell:War Stories of the NFL"(J.Hession/K.Lynch,Foghorn Press).

[edit] College Coach

Williams started off his college head coaching career at Morehouse College in 1997. He also has previous NFL experience as a scout for Jacksonville in 1995 and as offensive coordinator for the Scottish Claymores of the World League 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, La., 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 3 consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles from 2000-2002, before leaving to rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive.

In 2006, Williams joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers radio network announcing crew as color analyst.

Williams currently works for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the club's Personnel Department.

[edit] External links

• Was Doug Williams asked "How long have you been a black quarterback?"
• Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation

Preceded by Gary Huff	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Starting Quarterbacks 1978-1982	Succeeded by Jack Thompson
Preceded by Jay Schroeder	Washington Redskins Starting Quarterbacks 1987-1989	Succeeded by Mark Rypien
Preceded by Phil Simms	NFL Super Bowl MVPs Super Bowl XXII, 1988	Succeeded by Jerry Rice