The Jaguars made the playoffs last season, but they don’t want to be just a one-year wonder.
Darious Williams knows the ups and downs of the franchise better than most players on the team. Williams grew up in Jacksonville and played high school football at Creekside. Now, he is going into his second year with the Jaguars.
“Now it’s and now it’s time to do something bigger,” he said.
Williams already has a Super Bowl ring but now he wants to bring one to Duval.
“You always want to make it to the last game,” said Williams.
Williams is going into his sixth year in the league. He was undrafted coming out of the University of Alabama Birmingham, something that Williams has not forgotten.
“I’m an underdog,” he said.
Being overlooked like that by NFL talent evaluators left a mark on Williams. It helped to add fuel to a fire that was already there. Williams hopes to one day be an NFL general manager. This offseason, Williams participated in the NCAA/NFL coach’s academy.
“I love football in general and then I love just the talent aspects of things,” said Williams. “I know talent. I feel like I know talent. I feel like it’s a lot of people out there that don’t get a shot or whatnot. They can make a name for themselves.”
There aren’t many former players who have made the switch to general manager, but there is one right across the division in the AFC South — Titans general manager Ran Carthon. While making the jump from the field to the front office is the ultimate goal, Williams isn’t ready to dive too much into it yet.
First things first — Williams is still very much focused on being the best player he can be and bringing a Super Bowl to Duval.
“I’m still a player, so that’s not number one on my list,” Williams said. “But somewhere down the road I hope I get the chance to become one of those guys.”