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Doug Williams leaves Grambling to join Bucs front office
TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) - Doug Williams has left his alma mater to return to
his original NFL team.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
on Thursday lured Williams away from Grambling State and hired him as a
personnel executive.
Best known for becoming the first black quarterback to start in a
Super
Bowl, Williams began his career with the Buccaneers in 1978 and led them to
the NFC championship game a year later. But he left the Bucs in 1983 due to a
bitter contract dispute with then-owner Hugh Culverhouse and signed with the
United States Football League's Oklahoma Outlaws.
"This is a great day for me to be able to come back to where I
started," Williams said at an afternoon news conference.
But it was not a great day for Grambling State, which did not expect to lose
its football coach.
"It's a big shock, a huge shock," said Grambling State spokesman
Peter Forest. "This is a huge loss to Grambling, no question."
Williams succeeded the legendary Eddie Robinson as Grambling State football
coach in 1998 and compiled a 52-18 record. Robinson was at the helm for 57 years
and won 408 games.
Williams led the Tigers to three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference
titles from 2000-02 and was named SWAC coach of the year in each of those
seasons.
But Williams desired to return to the NFL and jumped at the chance to re-join
the Bucs.
"I look at it from the standpoint of an opportunity," said
Williams, who was a first-round pick of the Bucs in 1978. "It's great to be
able to get back to where you started and to work with people that you have a
lot of respect for."
Williams is the first major hire by new Bucs general manager Bruce Allen.
"Doug is looking forward to this challenge and there is nothing that
will ever prevent Doug from reaching the highest levels of the league,"
Allen said. "His accomplishments here in Tampa were really stunning when
you look at what occurred prior to his arrival, and what occurred after his
departure."
As Tampa Bay's starting quarterback from 1978-82, Williams led the Bucs to
three playoff appearances, including the NFC title game. When Culverhouse balked
at rewarding him with a multi-year contract, Williams bolted to the USFL and the
Bucs went on to have 14 straight losing seasons.
Williams still ranks among the leaders in club history in several passing
categories: second in touchdown passes (73), third in passing yards (12,648) and
fourth in completions (895).
After the USFL folded, the Bucs traded Williams' rights to the
Washington
Redskins in 1986. The following season, Williams enjoyed his crowning glory
when he was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXII, passing for 340
yards and four touchdowns in the Redskins' 42-10 rout of the Denver
Broncos.
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