Jaguars assistant Williams named Yale coach

Jan 7, 2009 - 8:26 PM NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Ticker) -- Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive assistant Tom Williams made history Wednesday when he was introduced as Yale's new football coach.

The 39-year-old Williams, who spent the past two seasons with the Jaguars, becomes the first black head football coach in Yale's 137-year history.

"I am thrilled for this tremendous opportunity to be the head football coach at such a historic and fabled institution," said Williams, who had previous college coaching experience at Hawaii, Washington, Stanford and San Jose State.

Williams spent three seasons at Hawaii (1996-98), including one as defensive coordinator, then served as linebackers coach for three years at Washington from 1999-2001. He helped lead the Huskies to three consecutive bowl games, including a 2001 Rose Bowl win.

"This is the start of an exciting era for the Yale football program," said Yale director of athletics Tom Beckett, who was an associate AD at Stanford when Williams was a student there.

"Tom impressed me as a student-athlete at Stanford and has made a lasting impression on many collegiate and pro players since then. He is a great fit for this job."

Williams replaces Jack Siedlecki, who retired after 12 seasons to accept a job as an assistant athletic director at Yale.

"He has shown strong leadership qualities and is a very good communicator," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "This is a great opportunity for him."

Siedlecki posted a 70-47 record, including 47-37 mark in the Ivy League. He guided the Bulldogs to a share of the conference title in 1999 and 2006.