Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, is back in the NFL after six seasons as head coach at Grambling.
Now he hopes to someday make a mark by building a Super Bowl winner.
Williams, 48, joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February as a personnel executive — a position that he hopes will groom him to run his own front office.
"When Bruce (Allen) and I talked about this job, he asked me, 'What do you want to be doing three years from now?' " Williams recalled from an interview with the Bucs' new general manager. "I said, 'Bruce, I'd like to be doing what you're doing.'
"He said, 'Well, you've come to the right place, and we're going to teach you what you need to know.' You can't beat that."
Williams worked a year as a college scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995, but his new gig will school him "from the inside out," he says. He's heavily involved in pro personnel evaluation and is getting hands-on experience in dealing with the salary cap. He also helped with the draft, and coach Jon Gruden — who initiated the pursuit of Williams — envisions even more day-to-day tasks.
It's the type of opportunity that Williams jumped for after growing frustrated at Grambling, his alma mater. Williams posted a 52-18 record, including three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles and national black college championship crowns. It was a remarkable turnaround for a program that began to fade under Williams' predecessor, the legendary Eddie Robinson. But Williams got tired of being rejected in attempts to get upgrades for his program.
Nearly three weeks before accepting the Bucs' job, Williams wrote athletics director Al Dennis a proposal that requested what many programs consider basics. Among desires: Adding an assistant coach, improving the weight room, installing a second practice field and having better maintenance for the stadium and practice fields.
He also asked that 20% of the school's proceeds from well-attended special-event games — such as the annual Bayou Classic against Southern that usually draws about 80,000 — be funneled back to the football program.
"But not one time did we sit down and talk," Williams says. "I had been going through it for a couple of years, with things not being the way they should have been. Sometimes, you just reach that point of frustration, and when you've got a chance to move, you move. A lot of times, in a situation like I was in, they don't think you can move. They take you for granted. I had an opportunity to do it, and hey, I did it."
Tampa Bay drafted Williams in the first round in 1978, but the relationship soured over a contract dispute.
But those were the old Bucs.
Listen to Gruden, the face of the new Bucs, and appreciation flows.
"He is one of the most mentally tough human beings I know," Gruden says. "He's overcome some tough experiences. His wife died. He had contract problems. He played in the USFL. Then he goes on to help the Redskins win a Super Bowl (in January 1988) and winds up succeeding Eddie Robinson. He's a man of many experiences who will help us tremendously. He has what I call 'Juice.' "
After last season's post-Super Bowl title fade to a 7-9 finish, the Bucs could use a jolt. Williams is one of many changes. Allen, the former Oakland Raiders executive, replaced Rich McKay, who moved on to become the Atlanta Falcons president-GM. Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Keyshawn Johnson are gone.
And no team has been as active in free agency this offseason, with 21 free-agent veterans signed and seven others retained — proof that Williams has been plenty busy.
"The most important part about this job is, no doubt, going to be the salary cap," Williams says. "The league used to be about building a team and keeping it. The way it is now with free agents and the cap, it's so much about putting the right people in the right places. It's making sure you get people who are conducive to the cap and what the coaches want — in a short period of time. Everybody has to be the right fit.
"For me," he adds, "I certainly think this is the right fit."
Adds Gruden: "Doug Williams will help keep things level around here. He's big enough to throw someone in the dumpster if they get out of line. He just has energy and clout. And he'll help me as a coach, too. It will be great to come off the practice field, just walk up to him and say, 'So, what do you think of that?' "
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Now he hopes to someday make a mark by building a Super Bowl winner.
Williams, 48, joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February as a personnel executive — a position that he hopes will groom him to run his own front office.
"When Bruce (Allen) and I talked about this job, he asked me, 'What do you want to be doing three years from now?' " Williams recalled from an interview with the Bucs' new general manager. "I said, 'Bruce, I'd like to be doing what you're doing.'
"He said, 'Well, you've come to the right place, and we're going to teach you what you need to know.' You can't beat that."
Williams worked a year as a college scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995, but his new gig will school him "from the inside out," he says. He's heavily involved in pro personnel evaluation and is getting hands-on experience in dealing with the salary cap. He also helped with the draft, and coach Jon Gruden — who initiated the pursuit of Williams — envisions even more day-to-day tasks.
It's the type of opportunity that Williams jumped for after growing frustrated at Grambling, his alma mater. Williams posted a 52-18 record, including three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles and national black college championship crowns. It was a remarkable turnaround for a program that began to fade under Williams' predecessor, the legendary Eddie Robinson. But Williams got tired of being rejected in attempts to get upgrades for his program.
Nearly three weeks before accepting the Bucs' job, Williams wrote athletics director Al Dennis a proposal that requested what many programs consider basics. Among desires: Adding an assistant coach, improving the weight room, installing a second practice field and having better maintenance for the stadium and practice fields.
He also asked that 20% of the school's proceeds from well-attended special-event games — such as the annual Bayou Classic against Southern that usually draws about 80,000 — be funneled back to the football program.
"But not one time did we sit down and talk," Williams says. "I had been going through it for a couple of years, with things not being the way they should have been. Sometimes, you just reach that point of frustration, and when you've got a chance to move, you move. A lot of times, in a situation like I was in, they don't think you can move. They take you for granted. I had an opportunity to do it, and hey, I did it."
Tampa Bay drafted Williams in the first round in 1978, but the relationship soured over a contract dispute.
But those were the old Bucs.
Listen to Gruden, the face of the new Bucs, and appreciation flows.
"He is one of the most mentally tough human beings I know," Gruden says. "He's overcome some tough experiences. His wife died. He had contract problems. He played in the USFL. Then he goes on to help the Redskins win a Super Bowl (in January 1988) and winds up succeeding Eddie Robinson. He's a man of many experiences who will help us tremendously. He has what I call 'Juice.' "
After last season's post-Super Bowl title fade to a 7-9 finish, the Bucs could use a jolt. Williams is one of many changes. Allen, the former Oakland Raiders executive, replaced Rich McKay, who moved on to become the Atlanta Falcons president-GM. Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Keyshawn Johnson are gone.
And no team has been as active in free agency this offseason, with 21 free-agent veterans signed and seven others retained — proof that Williams has been plenty busy.
"The most important part about this job is, no doubt, going to be the salary cap," Williams says. "The league used to be about building a team and keeping it. The way it is now with free agents and the cap, it's so much about putting the right people in the right places. It's making sure you get people who are conducive to the cap and what the coaches want — in a short period of time. Everybody has to be the right fit.
"For me," he adds, "I certainly think this is the right fit."
Adds Gruden: "Doug Williams will help keep things level around here. He's big enough to throw someone in the dumpster if they get out of line. He just has energy and clout. And he'll help me as a coach, too. It will be great to come off the practice field, just walk up to him and say, 'So, what do you think of that?' "
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