Jerry Williams

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This is an article about the football player Jerry Williams. For the Swedish rock star, see: Jerry Williams (singer).

Jerry Williams (November 1, 1923 - December 31, 1998) was a football player coach who served as head coach of two Canadian Football League teams, as well as the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles.

Williams, a native of Spokane, Washington, was a fighter pilot during World War II before playing collegiately at running back for Washington State University from 1946-1948. During his time at the school, he set the kickoff return record in the Pacific Coast Conference and led the Cougars in total offense during his senior year.

Drafted in the 25th round of the 1949 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, Williams played four seasons with the team, seeing most of his action as a defensive back. During his first three seasons, the team won three consecutive trips to the NFL title game, winning the 1951 NFL championship.

In his first year, Williams intercepted five passes, but the most memorable image of his Ram career came in the 1951 regular season finale against the Green Bay Packers on December 16. Following a missed Packer field goal, Williams returned the attempt 99 yards for a touchdown, a record that has since been broken.

On May 12, 1953, Williams was traded to the Eagles in exchange for a draft choice, then proceeded to lead the team in total offense during his first season. In 1954, he served as a player-coach, but in his two years, grabbed 75 passes, rushed for over 500 yards and scored eight touchdowns.

Officially entering the coaching ranks the following year, Williams became head coach at Montana State University. During his three seasons at the school, Williams managed only a 6-21 mark and escaped with his life during two harrowing plane rides. While piloting a private plane on May 24, 1956, Williams and assistant Lauri Niemi were knocked unconscious in a crash near the Idaho/Montana border. Then, on October 3, 1957, Williams and 14 of his players were enroute to Provo, Utah to face the Brigham Young Cougars when the plane they were riding in was forced to make an emergency landing.

After the 1957 season, Williams went back to Philadelphia to serve as Eagles defensive back coach under Buck Shaw, with the team capturing the 1960 NFL Championship with a thrilling 17-13 victory over the Packers. Shaw retired after the game, but new coach Nick Skorich kept Williams until the entire staff was dismissed at the conclusion of the 1963 NFL season.

A new ownership and the arrival of new coach and general manager Joe Kuharich led to Williams accepting an assistant coaching position with the CFL Calgary Stampeders. Shortly after the end of the 1964 season, Williams was elevated to head coach, and compiled a 40-23-1 record over the next four years. During this period, the team reached the post-season three times, and competed in the 1968 Grey Cup, while Williams earned Coach of the Year honors in 1967.

On May 9, 1969, after another ownership change in Philadelphia, Williams was hired as head coach, but endured a 7-22-2 record during his tenure. After dropping the first three games of the 1971 NFL season in which the Eagles were outscored 110-24, Williams was fired on October 5 and replaced by Ed Khayat, but he found work later that month as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns.

On January 19, 1972, Williams returned to the CFL when he was named head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In his first season, the team reached the pinnacle by winning the Grey Cup, but after three more years with the team, he resigned on December 12, 1975 following a 5-10-1 season. In his four years with the Tiger-Cats, Williams compiled a 30-29-1 record.

After briefly turning to farming, Williams made one last foray into football, returning as offensive coordinator with the Calgary Stampeders. He was later promoted to head coach on October 5, 1981.

In 1990, he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, spending two months in the hospital, but eventually made a full recovery. By 1998, however, his health began to fail, suffering a second stroke that left him wheelchair-bound on December 21. Ten days later, he died after enduring yet another stroke.

Preceded by Ralph Sazio	Hamilton Tiger-Cats Head Coaches 1972–1975	Succeeded by Bob Shaw
Preceded by Joe Kuharich	Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaches 1969–1971	Succeeded by Ed Khayat

Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaches
Wray • Bell • Neale • McMillin • Millner • Trimble • Devore • Shaw • Skorich • Kuharich • Williams • Khayat • McCormack • Vermeil • Campbell • Ryan • Kotite • Rhodes • Reid