ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Naval Academy head football coach Brian Newberry announced today that Jon Williams has been hired as the tight ends coach and Tommy Laurendine will move to slot backs. Williams comes to Navy from Miami (Fla.), where he was the Director of Football Operations and the Chief of Staff.
"I am excited to welcome Coach Williams and his family to Annapolis," said Newberry. "Jon is an outstanding person, coach and recruiter. He has a wide range of experience at every level of college football. He brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective into our program."
"The opportunity to serve our Midshipmen in their development in all phases of their lives as student-athletes and future leaders of our country is, without a doubt, the pinnacle of my career," said Williams. "I am humbled and grateful to Coach Newberry for his trust and confidence in me to represent this iconic program. The staff that Coach Newberry has assembled seems to be a microcosm of the Brigade of Midshipmen, which is an elite group of high achievers with strong character that share a passion for winning in all phases of life. I couldn't be more excited to work alongside each of them, as well as the best and brightest student-athletes in the country."
At Miami, Williams served as the senior staffer responsible for oversight of all aspects of the program, including operations and recruiting which netted the highest-rated recruiting class in school history, the #1 class in the ACC (2023) and top 5 in the country.
Prior to Miami, Williams was the Director of Recruiting and Player Development at Rice University in 2021, where he was responsible for revamping the recruiting department which resulted in the highest-rated signing class in program history.
Williams was the tight ends coach at Birmingham Southern in 2019-202-, where he was part of a record-setting squad that had the ninth-ranked offense in Division III and the #1
rushing offense in school history in 2019. The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID.
Williams served as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee Martin in 2016, where he helped the team make the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game.
Prior to his stint at Tennessee Martin, Williams was the assistant head coach, tight ends coach and director of player personnel at Southern Miss for Todd Monken, who was the offensive coordinator at Georgia last year when the Bulldogs won the National Championship and was recently named offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.
At Southern Miss, Williams was an integral part of the biggest turnaround in NCAA history at the time going from 3-9 in 2014 to 9-4 in 2015 and winning the Conference USA West Division. Williams was directly responsible for implementing a recruiting strategy and overseeing all recruiting operations that led to Conference USA's top-rated class in 2015. Williams was part of a Southern Miss offense that finished the 2015 season as one of two programs in NCAA history to have a 4,000-yard passer, two1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver.
Williams was the head coach at Itawamaba Community College in Mississippi from 2010-13, where he led the program to a 21-16 record in four seasons including a win over National Champion East Mississippi College in 2012. His teams finished in the top 20 twice in his four years at Itawamaba where he produced five NFL players. Williams was also an assistant coach at Itawamaba from 2007-09.
Williams has also served as the head coach at Locust Fork High School in Alabama (2006), assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Mississippi College (2002-05), special teams coordinator at Wayne County High School in Mississippi (2001), head coach at Simpson Academy in Mississippi (1999-00), offensive line coach at East Central Community College (1996-98).
Williams is a 1996 graduate of Wingate University and he received his master's degree from Alcorn State in 2004.
Williams and his wife, Lisa, have a daughter, Jordan, and a son, Cole, who is a long snapper on the Navy football team.
