St. Louis Rams officially announce appointment of Gregg Williams as franchise’s defensive coordinator
After a week of speculation, St Louis Rams on Monday, January 23, 2012, finally confirmed the appointment of former New Orleans Saints’ defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, as Rams’ new defensive coordinator.
The Saints loss against San Francisco 49ers in the playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) present season after which Williams apparently became the scapegoat.
His contract was set to expire by the end of this season, and after the failure it became obvious for him to leave the franchise.
Williams is close friends with the Rams’ newly appointed head coach, Jeff Fisher, and it was widely speculated right from the day he left the Saints that Fisher would call him to St. Louis.
On Monday, Fisher announced that Gregg had joined the Rams to serve as defensive coordinator.
“I have worked with and known Gregg for a lot of years and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a defensive coordinator and value his past experience as a head coach,” Fisher said. “He brings an aggressive approach that I’m sure will benefit
our defence and he has a wealth of knowledge that will aid our entire team.”
Williams started his professional coaching career in 1984 as a high school head coach.
In 1990, he joined Houston Oilers (now known as Tennessee Titans) as special teams’ coach. He received a promotion in 1994 and became the linebackers’ coach. In 1997, he progressed further and was appointed as the franchise’s defensive coordinator.
Williams got his first head coaching job in 2001 when he joined Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, he was fired by the Bills after a poor 2003 season.
He took a step back after the dismissal and joined Washington Redskins as defensive coordinator in 2004. He was impressive with the Redskins and later became the highest paid assistant coach in the NFL.
He joined Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008 and after spending one year there, he moved to New Orleans in 2009.
The Saints’ defence performed remarkably well in Williams’ first year in the office, but failed for the next two due to which the Saints and Williams eventually had to part ways.
Williams’ appointment came along with the hiring of a new offensive coordinator by the Rams. With all new faces in the coaching staff, the Rams are set to enter the new season and improve their stained record.
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