Gregg Williams is unlike any defensive coordinator the Jets have had in a very long time. He is brash, in your face and not afraid to let you know if you’re not performing up to his standards.
For years, Williams has used a unique approach to get the most out of his players. It has yielded consistent results and he plans on using that to his advantage in New York.
All of the yelling that fans witnessed on Hard Knocks last year when Williams was coaching the Cleveland Browns’ defense is not for show. There is a method to Williams’ madness and more often than not, the outbursts that make him seem intimidating are well thought out and detail oriented. Players listen when Williams speaks, even if it sometimes seems like he’s talking at them instead of to them.
“When you guys see the voice, the loudness and stuff, that’s premeditated,” Williams said while meeting with the media for the first time on Thursday. “How do we make sure on Monday through Friday that these guys can block out the white noise on Sunday? For whatever reason, when you have slow-motion practices, they get shocked on a fast-paced Sunday. I try to put as much external pressure on them as we can with loudness, voice and fake anger to get them ready to play on Sundays.”
Williams’ loudness and fake anger have not gotten old. His track record speaks for itself. In 29 years in the NFL, Williams has been a head coach, interim head coach and has made eight stops as a defensive coordinator. Time and again, when teams are searching for a new defensive play-caller, Williams’ name is at the top of the list if he is available for the taking.
“My secrets get out,” Williams said. “The reason I keep getting hired is culture — and culture beats strategy any day of the week. Attitude does come first. I always tell them, ‘Attitude is everything. Pick a good one today.'”
At 60 years old, Williams has enjoyed a coaching career that many could only aspire to. The NFL is a cutthroat league, but then again, Williams is a cutthroat guy. He has been around the block with many different regimes and has worked under many different head coaches, all of whom have had different personalities.
The grind never gets old for Williams. Football is in his blood and that is what he intends to keep doing until the day his style grows stale.
“People ask me all the time, How much longer am I going to do this? I love what I do. I’m a competition-aholic,” Williams said. “When I walk into a room and nobody will pay attention anymore, it’s time to do something else.”
