Bobby Williams Named Michigan State' 21st Head Football Coach
12/5/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 1999
Press Conference Audio
EAST LANSING, Mich. - It took Michigan State University officials less than a week to identify Nick Saban?s successor as head football coach. Longtime Spartan assistant Bobby Williams, who was appointed acting head coach only five days ago, has been named the University?s 21st head coach. Williams will be formally introduced at a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center auditorium.
Williams, who is in his 10th year as running backs coach at Michigan State, will make his head coaching debut in the Florida Citrus Bowl Jan. 1, 2000, in Orlando, Fla. It marks Michigan State?s first New Year?s Day bowl appearance since it played Georgia in the 1989 Gator Bowl. The 10th-ranked Spartans (9-2) produced their first nine-win regular season since 1966 and tied for second in the final Big Ten Conference standings.
The 41-year-old St. Louis native was promoted to the position of associated head coach last February. During his tenure at Michigan State, Williams has coached seven 1,000-yard rushers including Sedrick Irvin, who in 1998 became the first Spartan in school history to reach the rushing milestone in each of his first three seasons. He also tutored Tico Duckett, who recorded three-straight 1,000-yard seasons from 1990-92, and Marc Renaud, who hit four digits in ?95.
Prior to his arrival in East Lansing, Mich., Williams spent four months on Glen Mason?s staff at Kansas in 1990 where he served as receivers coach. He previously served as offensive backfield coach for five years at Eastern Michigan (1985-89). Williams handled the additional duties of administrative assistant in 1989. During his stint at Eastern Michigan, the Eagles won the ?87 Mid-American Conference title and defeated San Jose State, 30-27, in the California Raisin Bowl. The Eagles finished second in the MAC standings in ?88 and ?89.
His first full-time coaching assignment came at Ball State, where he worked with the running backs in 1983 and the defensive backs in ?84. Williams served as a graduate assistant coach under Leon Burtnett at Purdue in 1982, working with the defensive backs.
Williams was a four-year letterman for Coach Jim Young at Purdue and served as a tri-captain as a senior in 1981. He helped the Boilermakers to a combined record of 31-17 (.646) during his five-year career. Williams began his college career as a running back and ranked as the team?s second-leading rusher with 362 yards (99 attempts) as a freshman in ?77 before becoming a three-year starter in the defensive secondary. An honorable mention All-Big Ten selection as a senior, he had eight career interceptions and 172 tackles.
He was an all-state running back at Sumner High School in St. Louis in 1976. He broke into the coaching ranks as a prep assistant at Sumner where he helped his alma mater win the Missouri state championship in ?82.
Born Nov. 21, 1958, in St. Louis, Bobby and his wife, Sheila, are the parents of two children, Nataly (11) and Nicholas (8).
