Gregg Williams coaching career: ‘Bountygate’ ringleader now leading Defenders’ defense in XFL

The XFL defenders started this season with longtime HBCU head coach Reggie Barlow as their head coach. Barlow – who played in the NFL for eight years – made sure to add NFL experience to his staff.

His defensive coordinator is longtime assistant Gregg Williams. DC’s defense has gotten off to a hot start this season under him.

Williams has made several stops during his three-decade NFL coaching career, and his tenure has not been without controversy. The defensive guru was involved in the Saints’ Bountygate scandal and has had to rebuild his reputation over the past decade.

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Here’s what you need to know about Williams’ coaching history.

Gregg Williams coaching timeline

• 1990-96: Oilers (Linebacker Coach)
• 1997-2000: Titans/Oilers (defensive coordinator)
• 2001-03: Bills (head coach)
• 2004-07: Washington (defensive coordinator)
• 2008: Jaguars (defensive coordinator)
• 2009-11: Saints (defensive coordinator)
• 2013: Titans (Senior Defense Assistant)
• 2014-16: Rams (defensive coordinator)
• 2017-18: Browns (defensive coordinator, interim head coach)
• 2019-20: Jets (defensive coordinator)
• 2023: DC Defenders (Defense Coordinator)

Williams was the defensive coordinator for seven different NFL teams. He helped lead the Titans to the Super Bowl in the 1999 season, and he was in charge of the Saints’ defense when New Orleans won Super Bowl 44 a decade later.

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William’s time in New Orleans brought his career to a temporary halt. He has been identified as one of the masterminds of the Saints’ bounty system, which aimed to injure opposing players. Williams had already split from the Saints and joined the Rams when he was suspended indefinitely by the league in 2012.

Williams was reinstated in 2013, despite evidence from the NFL investigation that showed he played a leading role in the scandal. He then made three more stops as defensive coordinator. He impressed as the Browns’ interim coach in 2018, going 5-3 after Hue Jackson’s sacking, but he hasn’t coached in the NFL since an unsuccessful stint with the Jets ended in 2020.

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Williams was largely successful as a defensive coordinator, but he only earned one full-time head coaching job, a three-year stint with the Bills.

Gregg Williams coaching record

William’s career as an NFL head coach was short and largely unsuccessful. He went 17-31 with the Bills and introduced a turnaround in Year 2 before Buffalo fell behind in 2003.

season	team	W	L	pt
2001	bills	3	13	.188
2002	bills	8th	8th	.500
2003	bills	6	10	.385
2018	Brown*	5	3	.625
In total		22	34	.393

*Interim coach

Though Williams isn’t the Defenders’ head coach, he is a critical voice considering many players on the roster had a taste of the NFL and Barlow has no NFL coaching experience.

So far the results have been good. The Defenders twice intercepted Ben DiNucci in a Week 1 win over the Sea Dragons and held the Vipers to six points in a Week 2 win.

It may not be a coincidence that two of the XFL’s three undefeated teams in two weeks are influenced by longtime NFL defensive gurus in Williams and Wade Phillips.