| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1958-11-21)November 21, 1958 (age 67) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1978–1981 | Purdue |
| Positions | Running back,defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1982 | Purdue (GA) |
| 1983–1984 | Ball State (RB/S) |
| 1985–1989 | Eastern Michigan (backfield) |
| 1990–1999 | Michigan State (RB) |
| 2000–2002 | Michigan State |
| 2003 | Detroit Lions (WR) |
| 2004 | LSU (WR) |
| 2005–2006 | Miami Dolphins (RB) |
| 2007 | St. Thomas Aquinas HS (FL) (assistant) |
| 2008–2015 | Alabama (TE/ST) |
| 2016–2017 | Alabama (special assistant) |
| 2018 | Oregon (ST) |
| 2019–2021 | Oregon (ST/TE) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 16–17 |
| Bowls | 2–0 |
Robert Vann Williams (born November 21, 1958) is an Americanfootball coach. Williams served as the head football coach atMichigan State University from 1999 to 2002, compiling a record of 16–17.
During his time atPurdue University, between 1978 and 1982, Williams was a four-yearletterman for theBoilermakers football team and acaptain in his senior season.[1][2] He started for three years in thesecondary, after spending his freshman season atrunning back.[1] He graduated in 1982 with a degree in general management.[1]
After spending one season as a graduate assistant at hisalma mater, Williams got his first coaching position as a running back and secondary coach atBall State University, where he remained for two seasons.[1][3] He spent the next five seasons as anoffensive backfield coach atEastern Michigan.[1][3]
On December 6, 1999, Williams was named as the head football coach atMichigan State University.[4] Williams coached the Spartans to a 37–34 win over Florida in the2000 Citrus Bowl in his first game as head coach. In his first full season as head coach, the Spartans began their 2000 season 3–0, with wins overMarshall,Missouri, andNotre Dame, before losing four consecutive and finishing the season 5–6.[5] The Spartans did improve in the following season, though were inconsistent, and finished the regular season 6–5, which included a win versus rivalMichigan in the infamous "Clockgate"[6] game. In the 2001Silicon Valley Football Classic, Michigan State defeatedFresno State 44–35, finishing the season 7–5 and giving Williams his second bowl victory.[7] With the victory, he became the first coach in Spartans history to win his first twobowl games.[1] Nearing the end of his third season, Michigan State was 3–6 and last place in theBig Ten when the Spartans decided to fire Williams as head coach.[8]
After leaving Michigan State, Williams went to theNational Football League (NFL) as awide receiver coach for theDetroit Lions.[9] During his time with the Lions, he was reunited with wide receiverCharles Rogers, whom he had recruited and coached at MSU. After one season in the NFL, Williams returned to college as a wide receiver coach, as well as an assistant head coach underNick Saban atLSU.[1] After Saban left LSU for theMiami Dolphins, Williams followed him to become a running back coach for the team several months later.[2] However, after two seasons with the Dolphins, Williams was fired at his position.[10] On January 18, 2008, Williams again rejoined Saban atAlabama, accepting the position oftight end andspecial teams coordinator.[2]
Williams is married to Sheila Williams. The couple has two children: a daughter, Nataly, member of the Theta Sigma chapter ofAlpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and a son, Nicholas who is an offensive quality control coach with theNew York Giants.[1]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State Spartans(Big Ten Conference)(1999–2002) | |||||||||
| 1999 | Michigan State | 1–0[n 1] | WFlorida Citrus | 7 | 7 | ||||
| 2000 | Michigan State | 5–6 | 2–6 | T–9th | |||||
| 2001 | Michigan State | 7–5 | 3–5 | T–8th | WSilicon Valley | ||||
| 2002 | Michigan State | 3–6* | 1–4* | T–8th | |||||
| Michigan State: | 16–17 | 6–15 | *Fired after 9 games. | ||||||
| Total: | 16–17 | ||||||||
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