By james art Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications
WACO, Texas – Legendary former Grambling State HBCU football star and Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Williams has been named the 2024 Trailblazer Award winner by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). 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 program history, playing quarterback under the great Eddie Robinson. As a four-year football starter at the HBCU, Williams led the Tigers to a 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 voting after the 1977 campaign.
Williams was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 17th pick of the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft, becoming the first African-American quarterback selected in the first round. He led the Buccaneers to the playoffs three times in his first five seasons, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 1979.
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. After his time with the Jaguars, he served as Morehouse’s head coach for the 1997 season.
In 1998, following Robinson’s retirement as GSU’s head coach, Williams was named the new leader of Grambling State football. He won his first SWAC title as a head coach in 2000 with a 10-2 overall record. The following year, he led the Tigers to the Black College Football national title with a 10-1 record. He finished with three SWAC championships in 2002, leading the G-Men to an 11-2 mark.
After the 2003 season in which GSU claimed the SWAC West Division crown, he returned to the NFL to serve as Tampa Bay’s executive director. After serving as the general manager of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League during the 2010 season, Williams returned to HBCU football as the head coach at Grambling State, immediately winning his fourth SWAC title as a head coach in 2011.
Since 2014, he has served as the executive director of the Washington Commanders.
Doug Williams is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Black College Football Hall of Fame, Grambling Legends Hall of Fame, SWAC Hall of Fame, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor, Tampa Stadium Krewe of Honor and the Ring of Honor of The Washington commanders.
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 staff from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The AFCA Trailblazer Award was created to honor leaders in the football coaching profession who have coached at HBCU institutions. Past Trailblazer Award winners include Charles Williams, Hampton (2004); Cleve Abbott, Tuskegee (2005); Arnett Mumford, Southern (2006); Billy Nix, Prairie View A&M (2007); Alonzo “Jake” Getter, 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 Kassem, 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, State of Delaware, Johnson K. Smith & Howard (2021); Henry Kean, Kentucky State and Tennessee State (2022); and Edward Clemons, Edward Waters, Lane, Morris Brown, and Jackson State (2023).