Doug Williams (American football)

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 also became the first, and so far only African American quarterback to win the Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl MVP Award.

Career

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 1997 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.

Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws

In 1984, he joined the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League. 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, Williams remained the starter at the end of the 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 as of Super Bowl XLII, 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.

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 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.

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

On the day before Super Bowl XXII, Williams had a 6-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 Jacksonville 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, 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.

Williams currently works for Tampa Bay in the club's personnel department. His son Adrian is an accomplished basketball player, who currently plays for Brown.

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.

External links

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