Kevin L. Williams (born August 4, 1975) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played four seasons for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

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

, and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Professional career

New York Jets (1998–2000)

Williams was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

but ended up with the

in the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

due to a draft day trade. He was selected in the third round (87th overall).

1998

Williams played in 15 games and started in 6 for the Jets in his rookie season, playing

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

and

kick return A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of atta ...

er. He recorded 32 tackles, one interception, and a forced fumble.

1999

Williams had a disappointing 1999 season, only appearing in 4 games. This season was notably the Jets' last season with

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

as head coach and the team promoted

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...

, the defensive coordinator, to head coach. However, Belichick was uncomfortable with the recent change in ownership and resigned one day after being named head coach in an infamous press conference. In the press conference, Belichick lauded Williams, stating, "that kid has gone through so much and I was just kind of thinking to myself the commitment that Kevin has made just to live and e representswhat it takes to win in this league..."

2000

Williams played in 9 games and started 7 in his 2000 season with the Jets. He amassed a career high in kick return yards (615) and returned a kick 97 yards for a touchdown.

References

1975 births Living people Players of American football from Pine Bluff, Arkansas American football safeties American football cornerbacks Oklahoma State Cowboys football players New York Jets players Miami Dolphins players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen {{defensiveback-1970s-stub