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Tom Williams, a four-year letterwinner at Stanford and member of one of the school's all-time best teams, returned home to The Farm for the 2002 season. Now in his third season on Buddy Teevens' staff, Williams is the Cardinal's Associate Head Coach and linebackers coach.
A native of Forth Worth, Texas, Williams earned four varsity letters as an inside linebacker for Stanford from 1989-92. He played for Jack Elway, Dennis Green and Bill Walsh on The Farm. He later coached on Walsh's staff in 1993-94 as a graduate assistant.
Williams spent three years (1999-2001) coaching inside linebackers at the University of Washington under Rick Neuheisel before returning to Stanford. During his tenure in Seattle, Williams helped the Huskies advance to three post-season bowl games, including the 2000 Rose Bowl. Washington finished 7-5 in '99 after losing to Kansas State in the Holiday Bowl, then went 11-1 in 2000, won the Pac-10 championship and beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl. The Huskies finished the season ranked No. 3 in the country.
In 2001, Washington went 8-4, tied for second in the Pac-10 with Stanford and Washington State, and advanced to the Holiday Bowl vs. Texas.
Prior to joining the Husky staff, Williams spent three seasons at the University of Hawaii (1996-98). He was the linebackers coach in '96 and '97 and the defensive coordinator in '98. At age 29, he became one of the youngest coordinators among all Division 1-A coaches in 1998.
He returned to The Farm and joined Walsh's staff as a graduate assistant for two years (1993-94). In 1995, Williams spent five months in Japan as the defensive coordinator for the semi-pro Fujitsu Frontiers.
During his playing days at Stanford, Williams earned the reputation as a team leader and one of the hardest workers on the team. He earned four varsity letters as an inside linebacker while starting 20 games throughout his career. He recorded 141 career tackles and 11 tackles-for-loss in 35 games as a Cardinal.
As a junior and senior, Williams started 15 games for Stanford. In his final season (1992), Williams was a team captain on a Stanford club that went 10-3, won a share of the Pac-10 championship, beat Penn State in the Blockbuster Bowl and finished No. 9 in the final national polls. It marked only the third time in school history that the Cardinal won 10 games in a season.
Williams was a District-8 Academic All-American and First-Team Academic All-Pac-10 after his junior and senior seasons. He was an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection as a senior.
Williams graduated from Stanford in 1992 with honors as a history major. He earned his Master's at Stanford in 1995 in University Administration.
Williams attended Trinity Valley College Prep in Forth Worth, Texas, where he earned all-state honors in football, basketball and baseball, He and his wife, Tonya, were married in 2000 on Oahu. The couple had their first child, Grace, born July 25, 2003.
| Coaching Assignments | |
| 1993-94 | Stanford - Graduate Assistant |
| 1995 | Fujitsu (Japan) - Defensive Coordinator |
| 1996-98 | Hawaii - LB ('96-97), Def. Coord. ('98) |
| 1999-01 | Washington - Inside Linebackers |
| 2002-04 | Stanford - Co-Defensive Coordinator/ |
| Linebackers (2002-03), | |
| Assoc. Head Coach/Linebackers (2004) | |
| Bowl Experience | |
| 1999 | Holiday Bowl - Washington |
| 2001 | Rose Bowl - Washington |
| 2001 | Holiday Bowl - Washington |
Prominent Players Coached
Chris Draft, LB, Stanford
Jeff Ulbrich, LB, Hawaii
Ben Mahdavi, LB, Washington
Lester Towns, LB, Washington
The Williams File
Full Name: Tom Williams
Date of Birth: December 22, 1969
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
High School: Trinity Valley College Prep
College: Stanford, 1992 (B.A., History)
Graduate Degree: Stanford, 1995 (M.A., University Administration)
Wife: Tonya
Children: Grace
Playing Experience: ILB, Stanford, 1989-92