Robert Vann Williams (born November 21, 1958) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach who most recently served as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

from 2018 to 2021. Williams served as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

at Michigan State University from 1999 to 2002.

Playing career

During his time at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, between 1978 and 1982, Williams was a four-year letterman for the Boilermakers football team and a captain in his senior season. He started for three years in the secondary, after spending his freshman season at

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. He graduated in 1982 with a degree in general management.

Coaching career

After spending one season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Williams got his first coaching position as a running back and secondary coach at Ball State, where he remained for two seasons.. Retrieved April 19, 2009 He spent the next five seasons as an

offensive backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

coach at

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. On December 6, 1999, Williams was named as the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans football team. Williams coached the Spartans to a 37–34 win over Florida in the 2000 Citrus Bowl in his first game as head coach. In his first full season as head coach, the Spartans began their 2000 season 3–0, with wins over

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Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, and Notre Dame, before losing four consecutive and finishing the season 5–6. The Spartans did improve in the following season, though were inconsistent, and finished the regular season 6–5, which included a win versus rival

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the infamous " Clockgate" game. In the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic, Michigan State defeated

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

44–35, finishing the season 7–5 and giving Williams his second bowl victory. With the victory, he became the first coach in Spartans history to win his first two

bowl games In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I Fo ...

. Nearing the end of his third season, Michigan State was 3–6 and last place in the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

when the Spartans decided to fire Williams as head coach. After leaving Michigan State, Williams went into the NFL as a wide receiver coach for the Detroit Lions. During his time with the Lions, he was reunited with wide receiver Charles Rogers, whom he had recruited and coached at MSU. After one season in the NFL, Williams returned to college as a wide receiver coach, as well as an assistant head coach under

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

at LSU. After Saban left LSU for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, Williams followed him to become a running back coach for the team several months later. However, after two seasons with the Dolphins, Williams was fired at his position. On January 18, 2008, Williams again rejoined Saban at

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, accepting the position of

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coordinator.

Personal life

Williams is married to Sheila Williams. The couple has two children: a daughter, Nataly, member of the Theta Sigma chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and a son, Nicholas who is an offensive quality control coach with the New York Giants.

Head coaching record

*Fired after 9 games.

Notes

References

External links

Oregon Ducks bio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Bobby 1958 births Living people American football defensive backs American football running backs Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Ball State Cardinals football coaches Detroit Lions coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football players High school football coaches in Florida African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Players of American football from St. Louis