Pine Bluff alum Micheal Williams takes long road to becoming Zebras' new head football coach

By Kyle Sutherland  

Football is merely a science in almost any way you think of it, whether it be physics, biomechanics or kinematics. 

From a scientific standpoint, Pine Bluff High would have been hard-pressed to find someone more qualified to be the school’s next head football coach than 2002 alumnus Micheal Williams, who was announced for the position Wednesday evening. Williams will take over for fellow former Zebra football star Rod Stinson, who left in March to become the associate head coach at Marion after compiling a 10-19 record from 2019-21.

After earning a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry, Williams was not accepted into medical school, which was his first choice, but did get into chiropractic school. During that time, he was offered a significant job with Frito-Lay working on the Doritos Locos Tacos project, handling the sodium content, while also substitute teaching on the side from 2010-13.

In that span, Williams also worked as a chemist at Mary Kay, working with content for lip gloss and makeup. Though he was using his degree and making a great living while working a job many would not have the brain function to perform, there was still something missing.

“I knew that was not what I wanted to do,” Williams said. “I was making money, but I was not happy, and that was clear. It was just a job to me, going and doing something over and over.”

Williams first got his feet wet in coaching working as a volunteer when he came back home to Pine Bluff in 2005 to take care of his grandmother. He began volunteer coaching again in 2009 when he was back in Texas but due to the limited earning potential the introductory level of coaching provided, he decided to continue the path he was going as a chemist. By 2012, he realized his true happiness lies within the gridiron.

“I got tired of coming to work and not being happy, so I decided to do something that I love to do,” Williams said. “I was always an athlete, I grew up playing ball, and I knew just what I wanted to do.”

At that time Williams was in Dallas and in order to be on a high school staff coaches also had to teach. Though teaching was not a major interest, once again Williams did what he had to do and by 2013 he was certified and began his official coaching career at W.T. White in Dallas, where he stayed until 2017, serving stints as offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and interim head coach in 2017.

An opportunity arose to join the staff at powerhouse Duncanville, where he helped lead the Panthers to back-to-back 6A Division 1 state title games in 2018-19. The 2018 state championship gained national attention after Duncanville led 36-35 with seconds remaining before North Shore completed a Hail Mary with no time remaining to win 41-36.

After a COVID-ridden 2020 which saw Duncanville make another deep run in the postseason, Williams was forced to make a family decision to give his son more opportunities to get on the field for his senior year. Wylie East High was searching for an offensive coordinator and reached out to Williams. After thinking it over, he decided it was best to make the move and the team had a successful year in 2021.

“We won our first district game in five years and did some really great stuff [at Wylie East],” Williams said. “My son graduated this year and I saw [Pine Bluff] job came open. I really did not want to come home because the money is not the same, but I am looking at my city suffering, and I know football drives my city.

“I know how it was when I was coming up because even if all the hell is breaking loose in Pine Bluff, at least on Friday nights you can go somewhere and be safe. I wanted to get back to that and help my city in some way, and that is how I ended up back in Pine Bluff.”

Pine Bluff is statistically the state’s second-winningest football program of all-time, boasting 23 state championships, along with two national championships in 1925 and 1939 — the 1925 team still holds the national record for rushing yards in a season with 8,081 according to the National Federation of High School Associations.

However, the Zebras have fallen on tough times since Bobby Bolding led them to back-to-back state titles in 2014-15 and have not achieved a winning record since 2017. They have not won more than five games in a season during that time.

“The first thing we have to do is have a traditional mindset like we have here in Pine Bluff, but a contemporary feel,” Williams said. “The kids are different from when I was coming through; we ran the wishbone. It is a lot different these days, so you have to present it differently, you have to do the things that get the kids excited about playing football and being involved in sports again. That is where we will start — by getting them excited and get people to know about our kids and know about our city. I think that is going to change the program for us.”

If there is anything Williams has proven it is that he can help get athletes to the next level, having sent more than 30 to Division I programs in his 13-year career.

For the 2022-24 conference cycle, Pine Bluff will move down from the 6A-East to the 5A-Central with Beebe, Maumelle, Mills, Morrilton, Robinson, Vilonia, Watson Chapel and White Hall.