Flashback Friday: Why Doug Williams’ Super Bowl Pinnacle Still Defines Washington Football

As the football team in Ashburn, Virginia, gears up for mandatory minicamp this week, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on where the franchise has been over the years. There was a time when the Redskins organization trailblazed a path for minority quarterbacks to be taken seriously and given opportunities in professional football.

Below is the Doug Williams documentary titled Skin Deep, narrated by Keith David. which details where and how he grew up and how that shaped the person he became as an adult and, ultimately, the legend he became.

The Pipeline from Grambling to the First Round

Coming out of Eddie Robinson’s legendary Grambling State program with all the lazy scouting tropes full of racism and doubt followed and fueled Doug everywhere he went. That included the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him 17th overall, making him the first black quarterback ever drafted in the first round.

In just his second season (1979), Williams led the Bucs to the NFC Championship Game, in which they lost to the Los Angeles Rams 9-0. Doug led the Bucs to three playoff appearances over five years before a contract dispute led to his departure.

After Williams left Tampa, he found his next job in the USFL, which was short-lived, and when it folded, he was left jobless in 1986. That's when one of the assistants, Joe Gibbs, who helped teach him the playbook in Tampa, called with a backup job in Washington after Joe Theismann went down with what would be a career-ending injury.

The Decision to Elevate Number 17

Day 16 of posting Redskins/Commanders greatest games of All-Time until training camp starts. 1/17/88 vs the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship. @Commanders #RaiseHail #HTTR pic.twitter.com/VinsYBR4Yu
— DLacks21 🫡 (@Cheddarbob804) June 13, 2024

It would be 1987 before Gibbs would call on Williams, but the situation all came to a head in the final week of the 1987 season when Gibbs benched Jay Schroeder and elevated Doug Williams to the starting quarterback position.

That elevation set the stage for Doug to help that burgundy and gold team march right through the opposing teams in the playoffs, and then dismantle Denver on the grandest stage of them all and win Super Bowl MVP honors.

An Enduring Legacy in Washington

Doug Williams is an American treasure, a story of a young man who rose up from a tough upbringing in one of the poorest parts of the country to become the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Along the way, his story touched millions of lives and inspired people globally. Today, he still works in the front office of the Washington Football Team, now known as the Commanders. His legacy will live on forever.

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