OHS Head Coach Jeff Williams: A football life

Not many names are more synonymous with Owatonna High School than that of head football coach Jeff Williams.
Williams has made a name for himself in the Owatonna history books with a school-best 194-78 record and recently finished his 26th season at the helm of the Huskies program.
At this point in his career, it's harder to find accomplishments that Williams hasn't earned instead of those he has earned.
The three-time state champion head coach and two-time state coach of the year has built a winning team year in and year out since he took over as head coach in 1997.
However, this is not the first time Owatonna has seen a long-tenured coach lead a successful program.
Preceding Williams was former head coach Jerry Peterson, who coached at Owatonna for 31 seasons from 1966-1996 and hired Williams as an assistant coach.
"For me to come here and be an assistant for Coach Peterson for seven years and then take over the program, I had a pretty strong sense of the importance of football to the community, the legacy that he left, and the traditions that were in place. And you know, I've been thankful that the community has tolerated some of the changes that we've made."
Williams passed Peterson on Owatonna's all-time wins list two seasons ago in 2019 with his 180th win in a game against Mankato East on Oct. 11, 2019.
Before Peterson, it was Neal Davis who led the Huskies for seven years, from 1957 to 1965.
Having only had three head coaches in 64 years, Owatonna has put its faith in its leaders and Williams knows this.
"We've been able to evolve over time and the community has been very, very supportive of the work that our staff has done over the last 26 years. Hopefully, we've continued to make football an important part of the community and something the community supports."
Williams' love for the game of football is no secret; it runs in his veins.
The son of former football coach Dick "Snuffy" Williams, Williams has always been exposed to the game and its ins and outs.
Williams was an athlete on his father's team at John Marshall as a young man before ultimately assuming his father's role as the head coach of his son, Nick Williams, at Owatonna.
"It's a really unique thing and something that most people don't get to experience the opportunity to spend that time with your kid."
One thing that's kept Williams' love for the game strong is his compassion for his athletes and his will to drive them toward being the best they can be.
According to Williams, the most important part of coaching is supporting the athletes in all aspects of life.
This starts by making sure that your supporting staff understands a common philosophy.
"Most of it comes down to we've hired really good people to coach our kids. And we've been really, really blessed to have some really high-performing coaches who very much care about kids. Everybody knows their role and everybody carries out their job. We don't have to coach coaches here in Owatonna."