TAMPA - Former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams is quitting his job as Grambling State's football coach to work in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' front office.
The NFL team scheduled a news conference Thursday to introduce the former Bucs and Washington Redskins quarterback as a personnel executive. Williams will work in the scouting department under director of pro personnel Mark Dominik.
"We believe that some of the greatest assets of the league have been underutilized," Bucs general manager Bruce Allen said in a telephone interview, explaining the decision to pursue Williams, who led the Redskins to the 1988 Super Bowl title.
"Doug has been successful at every level of football he has been involved in, and we think he'll help us become a better team," Allen said.
Williams leaves his alma mater with a 52-18 record in six seasons.
"It's a big shock, a huge shock," Grambling State spokesman Peter Forest said Thursday. "This is a huge loss to Grambling, no question."
Williams played for the Bucs from 1978-82 before a bitter contract dispute with former team owner Hugh Culverhouse led the quarterback to sign with the USFL's Oklahoma Outlaws.
He led Tampa Bay to the playoffs three times, including a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the 1979 NFC championship game. After he left, the franchise didn't post another winning record until 1997.
"What he accomplished here in Tampa was truly remarkable when you look at what happened here before his arrival and what happened after he left," Allen said. "I was in the USFL and remember how happy we were to get a player like Doug Williams."
Williams joined the Redskins in 1986 and led them to a 42-10 rout of the Denver Broncos in the 1988 Super Bowl. A back injury forced his retirement in 1989.
Williams became the second football coach in Grambling State history, replacing Eddie Robinson in 1997. Before that, he was a head coach at Morehouse, and his overall record is 55-26.
He also worked as a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars and coached at Zachary, La., Northeast High School and Navy.
