Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications

WACO, Texas – Legendary former HBCU football star from Grambling State and Super Bowl winning head coach Doug Williams, has been selected as the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) recipient of the 2024 Trailblazer Award. The award will be presented to Williams during the 2025 AFCA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Williams is one of the most storied G-Men in the history of the program, playing quarterback under the great Eddie Robinson. As a four-year HBCU football starter, Williams led the Tigers to 36-7 record, winning three SWAC championships from 1974-1977. He was also named the Black College Football Player of the Year twice. 

His stellar play helped him become a Heisman candidate, finishing fourth in the voting following the 1977 campaign. 

Williams was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 17th pick of the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft, becoming the first African American quarterback to be drafted in the opening round. He led the Buccaneers to the playoffs three times in the first five seasons, including a trip to the 1979 NFC Championship Game. 

The Zachary, La. native reached the zenith of his career when he led Washington to a 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, becoming the first Black quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP. He set records for most touchdown passes (four), most passing yards (340), longest pass completion (80 yards) and longest touchdown pass (80 yards).

In 1995, Doug Williams was the offensive coordinator for the Scottish Claymores in the World League, then became a college scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars for two seasons. Following his stint with Jaguars, he served as head of Morehouse for the 1997 season.

In 1998, upon the retirement of Robinson as the head coach of GSU, Williams was named the new leader of Grambling State football. He won his first SWAC title as head coach in 2000, with a 10-2 overall record. The following year he led the Tigers to Black College Football National Title with a 10-1 record. He completed a SWAC championship three-peat in 2002, leading the G-Men to an 11-2 mark. 

Following the 2003 season, which saw GSU claim a SWAC Western Division crown, he returned to the NFL to serve as an executive with Tampa Bay. After serving as general manager of the Virginia Destroyers in the United Football League during the 2010 season, Williams returned to HBCU football as head coach of Grambling State, immediately winning his fourth SWAC title as head coach in 2011.

Since 2014, he’s served as an executive for the Washington Commanders. 

Doug Williams is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Black College Football Hall of Fame, the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame, the SWAC Hall of Fame, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor, the Tampa Stadium Krewe of Honor, and the Washington Commanders Ring of Honor. 

In 2009, Harris and Williams collaborated to create the Black College Football Hall of Fame to preserve the history and honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

The AFCA Trailblazer Award was created to honor leaders in the football coaching profession who coached at HBCU institutions. Past Trailblazer Award winners include Charles Williams, Hampton (2004); Cleve Abbott, Tuskegee (2005); Arnett Mumford, Southern (2006); Billy Nicks, Prairie View A&M (2007); Alonzo “Jake” Gaither, Florida A&M (2008); Fred “Pops” Long, Wiley (2009); Harry R. “Big Jeff” Jefferson, Bluefield State (2010); Edward P. Hurt, Morgan State (2011); Vernon “Skip” McCain, Maryland-Eastern Shore (2012); Marino Casem, Alcorn State (2013); Gideon Smith, Hampton (2014); Eddie Robinson, Grambling State (2015); Oree Banks, South Carolina State and West Virginia State (2016); John Merritt, Jackson State and Tennessee State (2017); Earl Banks, Morgan State (2018); Bill Hayes, Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T (2019); Edward Jackson, Delaware State, Johnson C. Smith and Howard (2021); Henry Kean, Kentucky State and Tennessee State (2022); and Edward Clemons, Edward Waters, Lane, Morris Brown and Jackson State (2023).

Related