Tom Williams (American football)
Tom Williams (born December 22, 1969) is an American college football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Greenhill School, a position he assumed in July 2013, until early 2017. Williams served as head coach at Yale University from 2009 to 2011, compiling a record of 16–14. He was a linebacker at Stanford University.
| 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) |
| 2014–2017 | Greenhill School |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 16–14 |
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 an offer, in January 2009, 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 misinterpretated claim that he was also a Rhode Scholarship finalist. The truth of the matter is that Williams was urged by two of his teachers and football coach to get interviewed, as he would be the perfect candidate. The problem was that the first interview was at the same time as tryouts for the San Francisco 49ers. As told, Williams went to the tryouts instead. That he skipped his final interview in order to attend an NFL tryout is a mixture of half truths mixed with the meddling of Harvard graduate and writer for The Washington Post, Peter May. Right before the rival game between Yale and Harvard, May had obtained some information and painted the story in a different light. The public outcry was enough to start an investigation. The investigation lead to Rhodes Scholarship officials stating 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 as well.[4]
Williams stepped down as Yale's head football coach due to the overwhelming pressure from Yale. 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
- "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 Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine>.
- "Tom Williams". Yale Athletic Department. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- Yee, Vivian, and Peter May. "Coach’s Rhodes Claim Under Review by Yale." The New York Times. 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <https://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.