Firing of MSU Football Coach Raises Questions, Sparks Discussion
Only three Black head coaches remain in Division I
By Erik Lords

EAST LANSING, Mich.

Then there were three. The surprising in-season firing of Michigan State University football coach Bobby Williams last month left many college sports observers across the nation asking several questions. Did race play a factor in the firing of Williams? Will his highly visible ousting hurt the chances of future Black head-coaching candidates? And, will his firing re-ignite the discussion about why there are only three African American head football coaches at the 177 Division 1-A programs in the nation, while more than 50 percent of the players are Black?

Meanwhile in East Lansing, the Michigan State community is trying to piece back together a football program that — on Williams' watch this season — went from being a nationally ranked top-20 team to a weekly loser, rocked by rumors, personal scandals and police blotter embarrassments. Most thought a change would come at season's end, but instead, the firing came on Nov. 4, with three games left on the schedule.

Michigan State athletics director Ron Mason said he pulled the trigger in-season because under Williams, the program seemed to be swirling out of control. He said Williams' own words after the team had suffered one of its worst losses of the season to archrival Michigan was a strong signal that he needed to go. When a reporter asked Williams whether he thought his team had slipped from his grasp, he said, "I don't know." Said Mason: "At that point, I really felt if he wasn't sure, who was? To me that was kind of a defining moment."

But Williams, who spent 10 years at MSU as a running backs coach before being promoted to the top job and becoming the first African American head football coach in Michigan State's history, still has plenty of supporters. The most notable being Joel Ferguson, Michigan State's only African American trustee. Ferguson voiced support for Williams when the team started its slide this season, and after the firing he hinted that race played a role in the decision.