'No Better Man': Commanders Honor Doug Williams, Name Diversity Coaching Fellowship After Him

Washington legend Doug Williams is the face of the Commanders' newest campaign to add diversity to the coaching staff.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 20, 2022

The Washington Commanders are looking to add more diversity to their coaching staff.

Doug Williams

Doug Williams

Ron Rivera

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.

Doug Williams

Doug Williams at Washington practice

Doug Williams at the NFL Honors

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.

Published Apr 20, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.