On the same day Nick Saban was adding to his Alabama coaching staff, he also lost a longtime member of his Crimson Tide football program.
According to The Oregonian, Bobby Williams has left his off-field role at ‘Bama to take an on-field role at Oregon. The website reported that Williams signed a two-year contract, worth $300,000 annually, to be the Ducks’ special teams coordinator.
Williams and first-year UO head coach Mario Cristobal have a prior working relationship as the latter was a Saban assistant with the Tide from 2013-16 before moving on to the Ducks as a member of Willie Taggart‘s staff.
While neither program confirmed the development, Williams did indicate on his Twitter account that he has joined the Ducks.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/7GViRE47Bv
— Bobby Williams (@CoachBDub) January 26, 2018
Williams had spent the last decade as a part of Saban’s staff in Tuscaloosa. From 2008-2015, he served as the Tide’s tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. The past two seasons, he held an off-field role as special assistant to Saban.
The relationship with Saban stretches even further back as Williams was on his staff at Michigan State as running backs coach. When Saban left to take the job at LSU after the 1999 season, Williams took over as head coach of the Spartans; he didn’t last three full seasons in that job after posting a 16-17 record.
Williams was also on Saban’s staff at LSU as wide receivers coach in 2004, then moved with him to the Miami Dolphins for two years (2005-06) as running backs coach. All told, Williams has worked for Saban for 21 of the past 23 years, the lone exceptions being 2003 (wide receivers coach, Detroit Lions) and 2007 (high school assistant).
