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Gregg Williams: From Excelsior Springs to 25 years coaching in the NFL

St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams during a NFL football practice, on August 4, 2014, at the team's training facility in St. Louis. (Photo by Scott Rovak)
St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams during practice, on August 4, 2014. (Photo by Scott Rovak)

Longtime National Football League defensive coordinator Gregg Williams certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots. Over the years, his foundation has gifted millions of dollars to school and youth athletics in his hometown of Excelsior Springs.

“I always wanted them to know they can do anything in life,” Williams said.

Williams is a prime example, having parlayed time as a small-town Missouri high school football coach into an NCAA Division I college job that led to what’s now 25 years in the NFL. His resume can now add the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which is inducting Williams among the Class of 2016.

Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction are Sunday, January 31 in Springfield. For tickets, call 417-889-3100 and see information box below for specific details.

2009 New Orleans Saints World Championship Ring Presentation. Presentation of Super Bowl Rings, designed by Tiffany and Company at the Roosevelt Hotel.
Gregg Williams was defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints when they won the Super Bowl in January 2010.

Williams’ time in the NFL includes three years as a head coach of the Buffalo Bills and now 14 seasons as a defensive coordinator, including the past two with the St. Louis Rams. He has presided over five separate top five total defenses during his career: the Tennessee Titans (No. 1 in total defense in 2000); Buffalo Bills (No. 3 in 2011, No. 2 in 2003), Washington Redskins (No. 3 in 2005); and the New Orleans Saints (No. 4 in 2010).

Williams coached in New Orleans from 2009-2011, helping the Saints win the Super Bowl in January 2010, and also captured two division titles (2009, 2011). He was a coach with the Titans when they narrowly lost to the Rams in the Super Bowl in January 2000.

St. Louis Rams Gregg Williams during a NFL football practice, on Friday, June 6, 2014, at the team's training facility in St. Louis. (Photo by Scott Rovak)
St. Louis Rams Gregg Williams during a practice in June 2014. (Photo by Scott Rovak)

Looking back, Williams credits Excelsior Springs coaches Sam Brown (football), John Shepherd (basketball), Dick Michaels (baseball) and his coaches – Ron Taylor, Bruce Craddock and Sam Nugent – at what is now Truman State University, where Williams was the quarterback.

“I’m a person who grew up with a hard work ethic,” Williams said. “I’m a farmer’s son, a factory’s son. I never did any drugs in life. I have a beer on occasion. But I’m a competition-aholic.”

Football just sort of found Williams, who was probably a better baseball pitcher and basketball scorer than a quarterback. But football paid for college and helped pay the bills after graduation.

 

Williams’ first assistant football coaching job was at Excelsior Springs (1980-1983). But after the school didn’t promote him to head coach upon an opening there, he moved on to become the head coach at Belton High School. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Three years later, a Belton graduate who went on to the University of Houston eventually recommended Williams to then-Houston coach Jack Pardee. Williams coached at the university two seasons.

Gregg Williams got his first NFL job with the Houston Oilers.
Gregg Williams got his first NFL job with the Houston Oilers.

Pardee then brought Williams to the NFL when he took the Houston Oilers job in 1990, and Williams eventually handled about everything, becoming one of the NFL’s first quality control coaches in overseeing little details. To this day, Williams is one of the few assistants who can say they coached just about every position. In 1993, when Williams was special teams coach, the Oilers had the No. 1-ranked special teams unit in the NFL.

“He was like a second father to me. He kind of took me under his wing,” Williams said of Pardee, who eventually agreed to move Williams to coaching defense. “I was learning defense from the guy who learned under (Pro Football Hall of Fame coach) George Allen.”

It was Pardee who guided Williams through his 20s, teaching the ways to handle stress of an NFL job and sharpening attention to detail. When the Oilers promoted Jeff Fisher to head coach, Williams was the only assistant he retained. Williams became the Titans defensive coordinator from 1997-2000, and still looks back fondly at the Rams-Titans Super Bowl.

Williams was defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans' Super Bowl team in January 2000.
Williams was defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans’ Super Bowl team in January 2000.

“Even though we came up a yard short, it was a great game,” Williams said. “I’ve still never watched the coach’s film. But that game brought a lot of motivation.”

To Williams, his NFL longevity is a combination of work ethic, a feel for leadership and family support. He’s served as defensive coordinator for five organizations (Oilers/Titans, Redskins, Jaguars, Saints, Rams), worked with five different head coaches and enjoyed tons of success. His defenses played a combination of styles as Williams emphasized each player’s strengths.

Support was key from his parents, Faye and Ira Williams, as well as his children Blake, Amy, Chase and his wife, Dr. Erin Shannon, and children Maddoc, Kennedy, Hennesy, Lochlan, Teaghan and Raferty.

“All I ever wanted to be was a mentor to young men, especially those who played for me,” Williams said. “I found a way to deal with young men who had never learned to conform in life. I’ve provided structure, accountability and discipline. … If I wasn’t doing what I’ve been doing, I would be a doctor or warden of a penitentiary. I’ve been like a father to tons of difficult young men, and I’ve been blessed to have that leadership gene.”

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Enshrinement Ceremonies 2016 presented by Killian Construction

What: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement

When: 11 a.m. reception presented by Meeks The Builder’s Choice at the Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive; 4 p.m. reception & 5 p.m. dinner & event on Jan. 31

Where: University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center

Associate Sponsors: Advertising Plus; Hiland Dairy; Hillyard, Inc.; White River Valley Electric Cooperative

Missouri Sports Legend: University of Central Missouri athletic director Jerry Hughes

Class of 2016: Mizzou Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel; former big-league pitcher Jerry Reuss, longtime NFL coach Gregg Williams, Springfield native and retired PBR bull rider L.J. Jenkins, Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard, St. Joseph native and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Terin Humphrey, Kansas City native and St. Louis Cardinals linebacker Eric Williams, longtime Kansas City Royals scouting director Art Stewart, Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins, West Plains native and former Texas Christian University baseball coach Lance Brown, former University of Missouri and Olympic track and field standout Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Missouri Southern men’s basketball coach Robert Corn, St. Louis University High School racquetball coach Joe Koestner, Missouri State University sports information director Mark Stillwell, John Burroughs High School football coach Jim Lemen, The John Burroughs School football program and the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will go to Med-Pay, Inc., owned by Gordon and Marshall Kinne, and Ken Meyer of Meyer Communications is the recipient of the President’s Award.

Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Individual tickets are $150. Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and autographed prints. Sponsorship opportunities such as congratulatory ads also are available.