Sitting promptly at his desk, analyzing film on his computer and reflecting on his career path, sat head coach Shaun Williams. Articulating about when he was 22, getting drafted into the NFL and how that has shaped him into becoming the person he is today, to now being the head coach for the Pioneers.
Despite his dreadful start to his head coaching candidacy, the players look to him not only as a head coach for the football team, but also as a mentor and a leader.
“I would bring up Samod Wingo, number one because people know who he is, but number two, because he is an outstanding person and has been through some tremendous adversity,” Coach Williams stated.
He talked about his recent encounter with Samod just a few weeks ago and how he helped Samod through some adversity.
“Just happy to be there for him when he needed somebody,” said Coach Williams.
Coach Williams references how he remembers Samod as an incoming freshman and remembers watching him, thinking that this kid (Samod) really wants to be great. He stated that you could just see and tell from the effort and grind he had that he wanted to be great at football. Always worked his butt off, stayed in great shape, always came to offseason and camp prepared, played through injuries, and showed just how tough and physical he was.
A majority of current and past players from the William Paterson football team under Coach Williams have a lot of great things to say about him and their relationship with Williams.
Former linebacker for the Pioneers, Samod Wingo, who just graduated last year, really took in his time with Coach Williams and had a great relationship and respect for him. Samod lost someone really close to him and battled through some adversity, but having Coach Williams show up and be there for him — not knowing who this person was — meant a lot and really showed the character and relationship between Samod and Coach Williams.
“I had lost somebody, and I had came back from being at my little brother’s funeral and he just had a little talk and just even though he didn’t know the person I had lost, he felt my pain and sympathized with me,” stated Samod.
Just the presence of him being there and knowing he was by his side during this difficult moment in time shows a lot about who he is and what he means to this team and the players. Samod emphasized how much Coach Williams meant to him and his time at William Paterson and the culture he was building for the team and its future.
Another player for the Pioneers, this time current second-year sophomore offensive lineman Spencer Ribitzki, had some great things to say about Coach Williams as well. Being in his second year with the team, the same length of time Williams has been head coach, Spencer had this to say about him and their relationship.
“I have a great amount of respect for Coach Williams, and a really good relationship with him. As a team, we all respect Coach Will not just as a coach, but also as a mentor and leader,” said Spencer.
Between both of these players — one current and one former — who have played under Coach Williams’ system and been part of the team, it says a lot about Coach Williams and his support for the team and especially the players. Both players, Samod and Spencer, also bring up how he pushes his players to be their best both on and off the field and cares a great amount about each and every one of his players’ success.
When talking about his older days of playing for the Giants and then coming to William Paterson on the coaching staff, Williams said he knew he always wanted to coach. Players came to him when he started off as the defensive coordinator for the Pioneers, and those were mainly questions for the head coach, laughed Williams.
“They are the most honest people I know,” stated Coach Williams, referencing his brother and father being the most important role models in his life. Anytime he wants truth, he goes to one of them to get the best truth possible and always knows to have someone like them in his corner to be trustworthy and completely selfless when giving advice.
He also brought up his high school coach, Tim Lance, who was a phenomenal role model for him and brought Williams into the discipline and structure of football at a young age.
“I want to make this program one of the premier programs in New Jersey and in Division Three,” stated Coach Williams.
Williams brings up last year’s disappointing season, going just 1-9, and a rough start to this season, going 0-2, but building up the culture of this team and battling through adversity. He’s bringing in the right people and players to build this program to the best that it can be for the present and the future.
Coach Williams is strong on respect and honesty. He mentions the best thing about him is when he hears and gets compliments from people about how nice and respectful his guys are and the way they present themselves for both the school and football team.
He expresses to his guys to surround themselves with good people and always have that feeling that they can talk or reach out to him. He mentions how he’s had players reach out to him even after graduation or alumni that he’s still in touch with.
He’s hungry to see this Pioneers team be successful and have them become a more premier Division Three football team. Coach Williams is a leader for the group of guys he gets to coach day in and day out, and it shows with the amount of respect, gratitude and relationships he’s built with his players and football team as a whole.
