Seattle Seahawks Coaching Fellow Looks to Honor Fallen Friend

In his brief time with the Seahawks as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, Billy Gresham has seen the impact his late friend Tarvaris Jackson left on the team.

Nov 17, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson (7) throws during pregame warmups against the Minnesota Vikings at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

This summer, Alabama State University special teams coordinator Billy Gresham is taking a step towards fulfilling his dream by joining the Seattle Seahawks as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. It's a huge step for him, and an emotional one in more ways than one.

On his first day with the Seahawks, Gresham walked through a hallway at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center that features names, jersey numbers and signatures of players throughout the team's history.

One name made him stop in his tracks, though: Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson spent two separate stints with the Seahawks in 2011 and 2013-15 before dying in a car accident in April 2020, just days before his 37th birthday. Gresham and Jackson were close friends who played together at Sidney Lanier High School and reunited at Alabama State. Seeing Jackson's name there made Gresham emotional.

"We were really close," Gresham told John Boyle of Seahawks.com. "We did pretty much everything together. We got into sports together, playing basketball and football. Then when he went to Arkansas out of high school, I recruited him back. Before the transfer portal they have now, I recruited him to come to Alabama State where I was playing at the time.

"I still have a really good relationship with his family. His mom is like my mom. Even now, his kids, it's a really, really strong relationship."

Jackson appeared in 25 games throughout his time in Seattle, with all 14 of his starts coming in 2011. Even though his time with the Seahawks was brief, Jackson's impact on the organization is still apparent today, as Gresham has learned throughout the summer.

"His leadership, the work ethic part of it, that was contagious," Gresham said. "Guys around him watched the way he worked, the way he carried himself. He was a pro going about his business, and he's always been like that. The way he did it — he carried guys with him, pulled guys up with the way he worked. Guys respected him for that. Guys gravitated to him."

After training camp, Gresham will return to his post as Alabama State's special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. For now, though, he's taking the opportunity to work with an NFL team in stride.

"It's been great. There's a great staff that's going to make this fellowship really good. The staff is really open, willing to teach and take the time out. Being a coach, you're into routine, and we're asking all these questions, doing things with them, so it's a little bit different for them, but they've been very open and accepting to us learning from them and taking things from them."