Doug Williams Joins Mission Podcast

By Jamir Howerton
Producer, Hall of Fame Productions

If Doug Williams were a young player determining his future in college football, he knows a school that would get serious consideration.

In a Mission podcast conversation that jump-starts a week filled with exciting content, Williams, the Washington Football Team legend, shared his sentiments surrounding the hiring of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as head coach of Jackson State University.

“This is so good,” said an excited Williams. “I talked to Deion in early September. He gave me a call and said, ‘I was thinking about you, and I know Doug has done this, and I need to know the law of the land and the lay of the land.’ We had a good talk, and I shared my experiences with him.

“But just listening to his press conference, if I was a young player coming out today, I would be hard-pressed not to want to come out and play for ‘Coach Prime,”’ Williams said.

An outstanding Gambling Tigers quarterback, Williams went onto an illustrious career in the National Football League, highlighted by leading Washington to victory in Super Bowl XXII over the Denver Broncos. Williams not only became the first African American quarterback to win a Super Bowl, but with his performance in the 42-10 win, he also was named MVP of the game.  

But it wouldn’t be until after his playing days were over that Williams experienced one of the greatest joys in football. He returned to his alma mater and was named head coach, succeeding Grambling’s legendary Eddie Robinson, in 1998.

“I consider myself fortunate,” said a thankful Williams. “One of the clichés Coach Robinson used to say was, ‘I got to be the luckiest man in the world to play for Eddie Robinson.’ It took me three years of playing for him to realize that he was giving the same speech for three years, and every time I got motivated. I felt like I can run through the wall.”

All of the excitement about the closeout of Week 3 of NFL competition — Monday night’s showdown between the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes, and the AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens, led by Lamar Jackson — brings a smile to Williams’ face. It wasn’t always the case in the NFL to see two talented Black signal callers on primetime in a nationally televised game.

“We are at a pivotal point now,” Williams said. “You know, back in the day, you would always hear about the good old boys — the ownership, coaches and general managers — had that mentality from a cerebral standpoint it can’t happen. But a lot has changed over the last few years.”

On the podcast, Williams shares many of the life lessons he has learned, and his list of top five wide outs will leave you stunned. Hear all these rich stories and more.

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