GM Could Be Next Logical Step For Doug Williams Those of you who have been around this town for a while, prepare to feel old. Thirty years ago (yes, that's right) the Bucs spent their No. 1 draft pick on Doug Williams. He was from a small school and unproven, but what a smart pick that was. He led the Bucs to three playoff berths before the fates - force-fed by a bumbling miser named Hugh Culverhouse - conspired to send him to even greater glory in other places. Perhaps it was just a coincidence of timing that brought Williams back to the spotlight again during the just-completed NFL draft. Once again, the Bucs invested a draft pick (a fifth-rounder) on an unproven quarterback from a small school. And once again, fate brought Doug Williams into the spotlight. For lack of a better title (we'll explain that in a bit), Williams fills a role named "personnel executive." When Jon Gruden went out of his way to credit Williams for being the force behind drafting Josh Johnson, it put the spotlight back on Williams and just what he does with the Bucs. Sometimes he isn't even sure himself. "As we all know, when you're in this rocking chair it's not to rock your career away," he said. "You hope you get an opportunity to move up, but as we all know sometimes, if you move up you might have to move out." Let's slam on the brakes here just a minute. Doug chose his words carefully. He is not unhappy with his job and he wants to make that clear. He is not unhappy, period. He is ambitious, though, as most thoroughbred athletes and humans are, and it's only a question of how long it will take before that ambition leads him to role larger than "personnel executive." Williams' career path seems to be leading him toward a general manager's job. His playing experience in the league, his work as in the personnel decisions, and the 52-18 record he compiled in six seasons as coach at Grambling State before returning here in 2004 has created a resume that is hard to top. "Doug is someone we respect. We listen to him," Gruden said. "He could be a general manager or a personnel director. I think he could be the head coach, personally. He's that type of guy. He's got great charisma. He has had a lot of influences on not only me, but on this whole building in a lot of other matters. In the NFL particularly, you have to be able to deal with veteran players, young guys, injured guys. It's a long season. His background and what he stands for helps him do that. He's got tremendous credibility with our players. I think he's got the talent do pretty much whatever he wants to do in this business." It's clear he is growing into the role of the front office. During a half-hour chat last Friday, Williams' eyes lit up as he talked about what he looks for in a player and his delight at seeing those projections turn into production. If Josh Johnson turns out to be the kind of player Williams envisions, it can only enhance an already growing reputation for spotting talent. A lot of teams saw a player who put up big numbers against mediocre competition, but Williams saw a quarterback schooled in the West Coast offense and hungry to become the best he could be. Williams saw the same things on tape everyone else did. Johnson can move around, make good decisions, get off the football in a hurry. But during a two-day trip last November to San Diego, a trip he was assigned to take by Bucs general manager Bruce Allen, Williams learned something more. He saw a kid who would be, as he called it, "a gym rat" - willing to hang around the practice facility and film room long after hours. He saw how his teammates, coaches, and students at San Diego respected Johnson. He saw intangibles. He saw a passion for football. "He didn't do well at the scouting combine; he had a terrible combine throwing the football," Williams said. "That probably knocked him down two or three rounds." When Johnson was still sitting there in the fifth round, Williams trusted his instincts and convinced Gruden and Allen this would be a good long-range pick. We'll know soon enough whether that's true. And maybe one day, Williams may be in the position of listening to someone trying to convince him to make a draft pick. It seems like only a matter of time until that's true. "You'd like to move up, you would, but that has to come from someone willing to give you that opportunity," he said. It won't be long. The Bucs already know what they have. Williams' name around the league will open doors when the time is right. It seems inevitable that one day he will have a second reason to leave Tampa. If that day comes, at least it will be for the right reason this time. Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune 7 May 2008