.jpg) Williams at 2018Cleveland Browns training camp | |
| Tennessee State Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Title | Defensive coordinator |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1958-07-15)July 15, 1958 (age 67) Excelsior Springs, Missouri, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Excelsior Springs (MO) |
| College | Northeast Missouri State |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | 22–34 (.393) |
| Coaching profile atPro Football Reference | |
Gregg Williams (born July 15, 1958) is an Americanfootball coach. He is the defensive coordinator forTennessee State University. His most recentNational Football League (NFL) experience was as the defensive coordinator for theNew York Jets, from2019 to2020. Previously, he was head coach of theBuffalo Bills from2001 to2003, anddefensive coordinator of theNew Orleans Saints (with whom he wonSuper Bowl XLIV) from2009 to2011, and theCleveland Browns, acting as an interim head coach in the2018 season. Williams is known for running aggressive, attacking4–3 schemes that put heavy pressure on opposingquarterbacks and for his key role in theNew Orleans Saints bounty scandal, also known as "Bountygate".[1][2]
In March 2012, Williams was suspended indefinitely from the NFL as a result of his admitted involvement in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, under which bounties were paid for causing injuries that would take targeted players on opposing teams out of games.[3] Williams' suspension was lifted a year later, and he returned to the NFL.
Williams was inducted into theMissouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.[4][5] In 2004, Williams helped create a charity, the "Gregg Williams Foundation", that benefits the local schools and community in his hometown ofExcelsior Springs,Missouri. The charity has contributed over $2,000,000 since 2004 to benefit the Excelsior Springs community.[6]
After graduating from Excelsior Springs High School (MO) in 1976, Gregg Williams played quarterback atNortheast Missouri State University (nowTruman State University) inKirksville, Missouri. He started his coaching career as an assistant football coach at this alma mater, Excelsior Springs High School (MO). After being passed over for the head coaching job at Excelsior Springs High School in 1983, he was hired as head coach for the Class 5Belton High School Pirate football team inBelton, Missouri.[7] After coaching atBelton High School for four seasons, Williams was hired in 1988 as an assistant coach at theUniversity of Houston under formerWashington Redskins head coach,Jack Pardee.
In 1990, Williams became theSpecial Teams coach of theHouston Oilers under then defensive coordinator,Buddy Ryan. From 1994 to 1996, Williams was thelinebackers coach for the Oilers. From1997–2000, Williams was promoted to defensive coordinator of the nowTennessee Titans after the Oilers moved out ofHouston. As the defensive coordinator, the Titans led the league in total defense and only gave up 191 points, the third fewest in the NFL since the league adopted the 16-game schedule in 1978. The defense also helped lead the Titans toSuper Bowl XXXIV where they lost to theSt. Louis Rams.
Williams joined theBuffalo Bills as head coach in2001 along with new team President and general managerTom Donahoe. After three seasons in which the team compiled records of 3–13, 8–8, and 6–10 under his leadership, Williams' contract was not renewed after the2003 season.
After his release from Buffalo, Williams was at the top of several NFL teams' list for the position of defensive coordinator. Williams quickly signed with theWashington Redskins, the only team with which he interviewed, because Head CoachJoe Gibbs offered him total autonomy over his defensive players and defensive coaching staff.
In Washington, with Williams' aggressive defensive scheme, the Redskins' defense ranked third in the NFL in2004 and ninth in2005.
On January 3, 2006, Williams signed a three-year extension to remain with the Redskins, which made him the highest paid assistant coach in the NFL.
His defense struggled in 2006, at one point ranked 30th in the League. However, the 2007 season was a vast improvement for Williams. The defense ranked within the top ten in the NFC, and the team finished 9–7, with a loss in the wildcard round to theSeattle Seahawks. Williams had established a particularly close relationship with 24-year-old free safetySean Taylor, calling him "the best player [he'd] ever coached." When Taylor was murdered mid-season on November 27, 2007, Williams was deeply affected. In tribute to Taylor, Williams called a defensive play with only ten men for the first play of the Redskins' first game after the tragedy, a December 2, 2007 game against theBuffalo Bills.[8] For the remainder of the season, Williams ran an inspired defense which performed, along with the rest of the team, to honor Taylor's memory, highlighted by holding star running backAdrian Peterson of theMinnesota Vikings to 27 yards on December 23, 2007,[9] and allowing a franchise-low one yard rushing to theDallas Cowboys on December 30, 2007, sealing a playoff seed.[10] AfterJoe Gibbs retired, Williams was considered to be the most popular candidate to take over ashead coach of theWashington Redskins. He interviewed four times with team ownerDaniel Snyder. However, on January 26, 2008, Williams was fired, along with offensive coordinatorAl Saunders, withJim Zorn ultimately getting the head coaching job.[11]
On February 6, 2008, Williams became thedefensive coordinator of theJacksonville Jaguars, replacingMike Smith, who had been hired to coach theAtlanta Falcons.
Williams was hired by theNew Orleans Saints on January 15, 2009. Head coachSean Payton, who was heavily involved in the effort to recruit Williams to the team, raved about Williams "because he was so impressive and prepared" in his interview. In fact, Williams was so impressive that Payton offered and took a voluntary $250,000 cut in salary to help facilitate his signing with the team. He took over a Saints defense ranked 23rd in the NFL in yards allowed and tied for 26th in points allowed in 2008. Williams' approach yielded immediate results, as the2009 Saints recorded 35defensive takeaways, second in the league, and the aggressive defense played an integral role in the Saints' run to their firstSuper Bowl championship.
However, in the2010 and2011 seasons, the defense (although showing statistical improvement in some other categories) failed to repeat its turnover successes.[12] The Saints were knocked out of the 2011 playoffs in a 36–32 loss toSan Francisco, in which the defense played well for most of the game but twice failed to hold a Saints lead during the last four minutes. At that time, the relationship between Williams and Payton deteriorated, with Payton regarding Williams as a "rogue coach". Williams' departure from the Saints was originally publicized not as a dismissal since his contract was expiring, however Loomis and Payton fired Williams telling him, "There's no place for this in this organization or this league", after the NFL informed the Saints that it had reopened its investigation in the illegal bounty fund.[13] It was widely reported that Williams would leave the Saints to become defensive coordinator of theSt. Louis Rams, under their new head coachJeff Fisher, for whom Williams had worked when Fisher was the head coach atTennessee.[14]
On March 2, 2012, it was revealed that during Williams' tenure, the Saints ranan illegal "bounty fund" which paid players for causing injuries to opponents that would result in those players leaving the game. The NFL found that Williams and as many as 27 Saints defensive players were involved in the scheme.[15] An unidentified Saints player first alerted the NFL to the scheme in the 2010 offseason, but the investigation stalled until the NFL found irrefutable evidence of a bounty system just before the 2011–12 playoffs.[16]
A league investigation revealed that Williams began the bounty system soon after he arrived in New Orleans, after Payton charged him to make the Saints' defense "nasty." Players usually earned $1,000 for "cart-offs" and $1,500 for "knockouts" during the regular season (though payments were known to triple during the playoffs), though they were encouraged to put their winnings back into the pot in order to raise the stakes as the season went on. The investigation also found that Payton tried to cover up the scheme, and that linebackers coachJoe Vitt, whom Payton had assigned to monitor Williams (the two reportedly did not get along), knew about the broad lines of the scheme and did nothing.[16][17][18]
Soon after the investigation came to light, several former players and coaches with the Bills and Redskins claimed that Williams operated similar systems while he was with them.[19][20] Former NFL coach and currentNBC Sports analystTony Dungy said that he was certain Williams operated a similar system with the Oilers/Titans as well.[21] However, several players, coaches and team executives who were with Williams in Houston/Tennessee, Buffalo, and Washington have denied that Williams ever ran a bounty system.[22][23][24][25]
Williams was summoned to NFL headquarters after the investigation concluded in mid-February. He initially denied any involvement, but recanted and admitted everything in a meeting with NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell.[17] He issued a statement apologizing for his role, saying that he had known it was wrong from the start.[15] On March 21, 2012, the NFL suspended Williams indefinitely for "conduct detrimental" to the league, effective that day. In a statement, the NFL said that its investigation had found that Williams not only administered the bounty program and occasionally contributed some of his own money to the bounty pool, but also lied to league investigators about his role. Consequently, the suspension would run until the end of the 2012 season at the earliest. When Williams applied for reinstatement, Goodell considered how much Williams cooperated with the NFL in its continuing investigation; Goodell also expected Williams to participate in league efforts to eliminate bounty systems altogether.[18] The NFL continued to investigate allegations that Williams ran a bounty program in Washington.[26]
Williams apologized again after he learned of his punishment, and said he hoped to return to coaching in the future.[27] However, Fisher said that neither he nor the Rams knew about the bounty program, and he would have not have hired Williams had he known that Williams might be facing a year's suspension.[28]
On April 5, documentary filmmakerSean Pamphilon released audio of a meeting Williams held with his defense before their 2012 divisional playoff game against theSan Francisco 49ers. In a profanity-laced speech, Williams instructed his defense to target several 49ers players. He ordered his men to try to knock out running backKendall Hunter, even if it meant hitting him out of bounds. He specifically directed them to try to tear wide receiverMichael Crabtree'sACL, and to go after wide receiverKyle Williams specifically because he had a history of concussions. Pamphilon, who was doing a documentary on the media's effect on football fromPee-Wee all the way to the NFL, released the audio toYahoo! Sports because he was sickened by what he heard.[29]
On December 12, theAssociated Press reported that, according to a transcript of the bounty appeal hearing, Williams had testified that he had wanted to shut down the system after the league began investigating, but was overruled by Saints linebackers coach Joe Vitt.[30] Vitt, however, denied the claims.[31]
On February 3, 2012, Williams was formally introduced as the Rams' new defensive coordinator.[32] A little over a month later, on March 21, Williams was suspended indefinitely for his role in the Saints bounty scandal,[33] and was fired on January 2, 2013, without ever working a day for the Rams.[34]
On February 7, 2013, Williams was reinstated by the NFL and officially hired by theTennessee Titans as a senior assistant defensive coach.[35] In the official statement released by the league, commissionerRoger Goodell cited Williams' acceptance of responsibility for his role in the bounty program and pledge to never be involved in another such "pay for performance" system as the main reasons for Williams' reinstatement after just one year.[36]
Williams was hired as defensive coordinator for the Rams on February 12, 2014.[37]
He would return to New Orleans to face against his former team on November 27, 2016. The Saints would shred Williams' defense, which gave up 555 yards, in a 49–21 win over the Rams. Some would see the Saints running up the score as a measure of revenge against Williams for his role in Bountygate.[38][39]
On December 12, 2016, the Los Angeles Rams fired head coachJeff Fisher. His coaching staff, along with Williams, was fired at the end of the season.
Williams was hired as the defensive coordinator of theCleveland Browns on January 7, 2017.[40]
On October 29, 2018, following head coachHue Jackson's dismissal, Williams was named the Browns interim head coach, whileFreddie Kitchens was named interim offensive coordinator.[41] Williams guided the Browns to a 5–3 record, including a credible showing against theKansas City Chiefs, and was responsible for the emergence ofBaker Mayfield as the team's quarterback.[42] There was growing support for Williams to take over as head coach on a permanent basis, although his previous history as Bills head coach and the Bountygate scandal may have hurt his cause.[43][44]
Following the appointment of offensive coordinatorFreddie Kitchens as permanent head coach, Williams and several defensive coaching assistants were let go by the Browns.[45] With a 0.625 winning percentage in eight games as coach, he was the first head coach sinceMarty Schottenheimer in 1988 to leave Cleveland with a winning record as coach.
On January 16, 2019, Williams was hired as the defensive coordinator for theNew York Jets under new head coachAdam Gase.[46] While the Jets offense struggled, Williams led the Jets to seventh in the NFL in overall defense including second against the run.[47]
On December 7, 2020, Williams was fired from the Jets following a 31–28 loss to theLas Vegas Raiders. The firing came after Williams called a controversial zeroblitz on aHail Mary play in an attempt to sackDerek Carr. However, Carr foundHenry Ruggs open, beating cornerLamar Jackson for a game-winning touchdown with five seconds left, thus dropping the Jets to 0–12.[48][49]
On June 9, 2022, Williams was announced as the defensive coordinator for theDC Defenders under head coachReggie Barlow.[50] Williams would stay with the Defenders for three seasons.
On April 9, 2025, Williams stepped down from his position as defensive coordinator with the Defenders in preparation to join Barlow atTennessee State University. He named his son Blake Williams as the Defenders' defensive coordinator for the rest of the 2025 season.[51][52]
Williams has been married twice. He has three children, two sons and a daughter, from his first marriage. His son Blake Williams succeeded him as the DC Defenders' defensive coordinator.[52]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BUF | 2001 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 5th in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| BUF | 2002 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4th in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| BUF | 2003 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3rd in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| BUF Total | 17 | 31 | 0 | .354 | – | – | – | – | ||
| CLE* | 2018 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 3rd in AFC North | – | – | – | – |
| CLE Total | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 22 | 34 | 0 | .393 | – | – | – | – | ||
* – Interim head coach
