.jpg) Washington at the2018 Celebration Bowl | |||||||
| No. 41 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Head coach | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1960-03-07)March 7, 1960 (age 65) Tampa, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Tampa Bay Technical (Tampa, Florida) | ||||||
| College | Mississippi Valley State | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1982: undrafted | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
Playing | |||||||
Coaching | |||||||
| |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
| |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||
| Regular season | 31–15 (.674) | ||||||
Samuel Lee Washington Jr. (born March 7, 1960) is an Americanfootball coach and formerdefensive back who was the head football coach atNorth Carolina A&T State University. Originally fromTampa, Florida, Washington played college football atMississippi Valley State. After signing with thePittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent, he played four seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) for the Steelers andCincinnati Bengals from 1982 to 1985.
Washington has been a football coach since 1987, beginning as defensive backs coach atBethune–Cookman. He later held defensive coordinator positions at multiple other historically black universities, includingNorth Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State, andGrambling State. Washington turned around a struggling defensive unit at Mississippi Valley State to one of the best in theSouthwestern Athletic Conference and elevated the Grambling State defense to the upper tier ofNCAA Division I FCS.
After seven seasons as defensive coordinator at North Carolina A&T, Washington became head coach in 2018. His first two seasons had a cumulative 19–5 record, back-to-backblack college football national championships, and top 25 FCS rankings. After the 2020 season was canceleddue to COVID-19, the football program moved from its longtime home in theMid-Eastern Athletic Conference to theBig South Conference in 2021.
Born and raised inTampa, Florida, Washington graduated fromTampa Bay Technical High School in 1978.[1] Washington then attendedMississippi Valley State University, where he played atcornerback for theMississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team.[2]
Washington signed with thePittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent after the1982 NFL draft. He played four games in 1982 as a rookie. Then in 1983, Washington played all 16 games as a reserve and had his first career interception. Washington played and started 14 games in 1984 with a career high six interceptions for 139 yards including two returned for touchdowns.[1]
After seven games with the Steelers in 1985, Washington was traded to theCincinnati Bengals, where he played eight games and had a fumble recovery.[1]
From 1987 to 1991, Washington was defensive backs coach atBethune–Cookman, helping Bethune–Cookman win the 1988Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship.[2] In 1992, Washington was assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and special teams coordinator atJohnson C. Smith University, where he was also the head track and field coach.[2] Then from 1993 to 2000, Washington was defensive coordinator and assistant head coach atNorth Carolina Central.[2]
Washington's first job atNorth Carolina A&T was in 2001 as special teams coordinator under head coachBill Hayes. Then from 2002 to 2006, Washington returned to his alma mater as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and defensive backs coach atMississippi Valley State, turning around one of the worst defenses in theSouthwestern Athletic Conference into the second best.[2]
From 2007 to 2010, Washington was defensive backs coach atGrambling State Tigers under head coachRod Broadway. The 2007 Grambling State team had the no. 12 total defense in all of NCAA Division I FCS. Then in 2008, Grambling State was the FCS leader in turnover margin and third in scoring defense.[2] Following Broadway, Washington returned to North Carolina A&T in 2011 to become defensive coordinator and secondary coach, positions he would hold for seven years.[2]
Following the retirement of Broadway, Washington was promoted to head coach at North Carolina A&T on January 9, 2018.[2]
In his first season in2018, Washington led A&T to a 10–2 record. On September 2, North Carolina A&T defeatedEast Carolina 28–23, marking the third straight season A&T defeated anFBS opponent.[3] A&T's Twitter video of Washington's postgame locker room speech was widely shared; it ended with Washington remarking, "tell 'em to bring me my money."[4] North Carolina A&T received a $330,000 payment from East Carolina for the game.[5] A&T finished the season with a MEAC co-championship,2018 Celebration Bowl title,black college football national championship, and year-end rankings inboth FCS polls (no. 12 STATS, no. 11 AFCA Coaches).
Then in2019, A&T went 9–3 for a second straight MEAC title. The team went on to win the2019 Celebration Bowl and defended their black college national championship as a result.[2]
North Carolina A&T did not play in the 2020 season. In July 2020, the MEAC suspended all fall sports due toCOVID-19.[6] Although a spring 2021 season was an option, the MEAC declined to hold a football championship, so A&T decided not to compete at all in what would have been the last season before the athletics program would move to theBig South Conference.[7]
In2021, A&T's first season in the Big South, A&T finished 5–6.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | STATS# | Coaches° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina A&T Aggies(Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)(2018–2020) | |||||||||
| 2018 | North Carolina A&T | 10–2 | 6–1 | 1st | WCelebration | 12 | 11 | ||
| 2019 | North Carolina A&T | 9–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd* | WCelebration | 23 | 22 | ||
| 2020–21 | No team—COVID-19 | ||||||||
| North Carolina A&T Aggies(Big South Conference)(2021–2022) | |||||||||
| 2021 | North Carolina A&T | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2022 | North Carolina A&T | 7–4 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| North Carolina A&T: | 31–15 | 19–8 | *conf champs in 2019 due to NCAA sanctions on Florida A&M | ||||||
| Total: | 31–15 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||