Tom Williams (American football)
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Linebackers coach |
| Team | FIU |
| Conference | Sun Belt |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
December 22, 1969 Fort Worth, Texas |
| Playing career | |
| 1989–1992 | Stanford |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1993–1994 | Stanford (GA) |
| 1995 | Fujitsu Frontiers (DC) |
| 1996–1998 | Hawaii (LB/DC) |
| 1999–2001 | Washington (LB) |
| 2002–2003 | Stanford (DC/LB) |
| 2004 | Stanford (assoc. HC) |
| 2005–2006 | San Jose State (DC/LB) |
| 2007–2008 | Jacksonville Jaguars (DA/ST) |
| 2009–2011 | Yale |
| 2012 | UTEP (SAF) |
| 2013 | FIU (LB) |
| 2014 – | Greenhill School |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 16–14 |
Tom Williams (born December 22, 1969) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Greenhill School, a position he assumed in July 2013. Williams served as head coach at Yale University from 2009 to 2011, compiling a record of 16–14. He played as a linebacker at Stanford University.
Playing career
Williams attended Trinity Valley School in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. During his tenure at Trinity Valley he earned all-state honors in football, basketball, and baseball. Williams graduated from high school in 1988.
Williams went on to pursue academics at Stanford University. While pursuing academics, Williams was also a four-year starter and letterman for the Stanford Cardinal. He played linebacker for the Stanford Cardinal from 1989–1992 and served as a team captain his senior year. He was a two-time member of the Academic All-Pac-10 team and an honorable mention for All-Pac-10 his senior season.[1]
Coaching career
Williams worked as an assistant coach at Stanford University, the University of Hawaii, San Jose State University, and University of Washington before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars as an assistant coach from 2006 to 2008.[2]
He accepted a January 2009 offer to become the head football coach at Yale; he was the first black head football coach in the school's history and the second in the history of the Ivy League.[2]
On November 17,[3] 2011, the Rhodes Scholarship pursuits of Yale's Patrick Witt brought attention to Williams's claim that he was also a Rhode Scholarship finalist. Williams claimed that he skipped his final interview in order to attend a NFL tryout. However, Rhodes Scholarship officials stated that they have no record of Tom Williams applying for a Rhodes Scholarship, and his name does not appear in the scholarship's trust databases. Yale launched an internal review on the matter.[4]
After losing to Harvard 45-7 on November 19, 2011, Williams's record against Harvard dropped to 0–3. His record at the school was 16–14 after three seasons. In The Game, his Bulldogs scored 38 points and surrendered 87. On December 31, 2011, Williams stepped down as Yale's head football coach. He also admitted that he had never applied for a Rhodes Scholarship.[5]
As of February 21, 2012 Williams was named University of Texas at El Paso's safeties coach. He served on the UTEP defensive staff under head football coach Mike Price.[1]
Personal life
Williams is married to Tonya; they have four children: Grace, Tom (Tre), Ana, and Lauren. He has a master's degree in university administration from Stanford University.[2][6] Williams graduated from Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth, Texas.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale Bulldogs (Ivy League) (2009–2011) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Yale | 4–6 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2010 | Yale | 7–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2011 | Yale | 5–5 | 4–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| Yale: | 16–14 | 11–10 | |||||||
| Total: | 16–14 | ||||||||
References
- 1 2 "Football Announces the Hiring of Tom Williams to Defensive Staff." UTEP Miners Inside Athletics. 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/022112aaa.html>.
- 1 2 3 "Tom Williams". Yale Athletic Department.
- ↑ Yee, Vivian, and Peter May. "Coach’s Rhodes Claim Under Review by Yale." The New York Times. 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/sports/ncaafootball/yale-looking-into-coach-tom-williamss-rhodes-claims.html>.
- ↑ Scocca, Tom. "Yale's Football Coach, Like Vince Lombardi, May Have Padded His Academic Resume". Deadspin.com. Deadspin.com. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ↑ "Yale coach Tom Williams resigns". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 21, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ↑ "Tom Williams". Jacksonville Jaguars. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008.