WACO, Texas- To many Americans, Doug Williams is best known as a former football star from Grambling State University and a head coach that won a Super Bowl. It will be now given to Williams during the AFCA Convention planned in 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Williams is one of the most decorated G-Men in the annals of the programme and played quarterback under the legendary HF coach Eddie Robinson. Former four year HBCU football starter, Williams established the tigers with 36-7 record, SWAC champions from 1974-1977. He was also a two time winner of Black College Football Player of the Year.
He improved his play enough to become a Heisman candidate; he placed fourth in the balloting after the 1977 season.
Williams was a first round NFL draft selection of Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 17th overall pick during the 1978 NFL Draft making of him the first African American quarterback of the NFL first round. As a Buccaneer head coach, he took the Buccaneers to the playoffs thrice in five seasons and reached the 1979 NFC Championship Game.
The Zachary, La. native reached the pinnacle of his career when he led Washington to a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII becoming the first Black quarterback to be inducted into the hall of fame and be named the Super Bowl MVP. Combined with his 80 yard long completion and 80 yard long touchdown pass, he broke records on most touchdown passes with 4, and most passing yards with 340.
In 1995, Doug Williams had the post of the Scottish Claymores’ offensive coordinator in the World League, and following that, he had been a college scout for two years in the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was next as Morehouse head for what amounted to the 1997 season before leaving the college coach trenches.
It was 1998, with Robinson retires from the head-coaching position at GSU, Williams took control of Grambling State football. Interim Jackson State had their first SWAC title as head coach in the year 2000, with a record of 10-2. The following year he take Tiger to Black College Football National Title with record of 10-1. He finished his SWAC championship three-peat in 2002 with the G-Men having gone 11-2.
After the 2003 regular season in which GSU won a SWAC Western Division title, he rejoined the NFL as a Tampa Bay team’s executive. Following his tenure as general manager of the Virginia Destroyers in the United Football League in the 2010 season, Williams rose back to HBCU football to become the Tiger head coach and win his fourth SWAC title as head coach in 2011.
Incidentally, he has been an executive of the Washington Commanders since the year 2014.
Doug Williams has been inducted into things like the College Football which is also known as the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Black College Football Hall of Fame, the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame then the South Western Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ring of honor, the Krewe of Honor residents to the Tampa Stadium and lastly the Washington Commanders ring of honor.
In year 2009 the duo of Harris and Williams established Black College Football Hall of Fame which aims at documenting the history of football players, coaches and contributors from HBCU.
The AFCA Trailblazer Award was developed in order to recognize legends in the football coaching profession, men who coached for any period at HBCU’s.
