'No Better Man': Commanders Honor Doug Williams, Name Diversity Coaching Fellowship After Him
The Washington Commanders are looking to add more diversity to their coaching staff.
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On Wednesday, the team announced the start of the Doug Williams Diversity Coaching Fellowship, which will hire a coach from a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to become an offensive assistant.
The announcement of the fellowship comes months after Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the league for racial discrimination in hiring practices during his tenure in the NFL.
"I have always said that fostering opportunities for young coaches of color is what we need to do in order to correct the issues we have been seeing with the hiring cycles in the league," said Head Coach Ron Rivera in a statement. "We are excited to announce the Doug Williams Diversity Coaching Fellowship which will help us continue to grow as an organization and help foster young coaching talent to set them up for success in their careers. There is no better man to honor with the naming of this fellowship than the great Doug Williams who is a trailblazer in the NFL and has represented this organization with class for many years."
Williams, who graduated from Grambling State University, is one of the most successful HBCU alums in college football history. He threw for 3,286 yards and 38 touchdowns against 18 interceptions during the 1977 season with the Tigers. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting before being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17th overall in the 1978 NFL Draft.
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Joining Washington in 1986, Williams became the first Black quarterback to both start and win a Super Bowl in 1988 against the Denver Broncos. Williams threw for 340 and four touchdowns and was named Super Bowl XXII MVP. He was once Grambling's head coach and since 2014 has worked for the Washington franchise in a variety of capacities, and is presently a senior advisor to team president Jason Wright.
