James Edward Willis III (born September 2, 1972) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League and a former coach in the NCAA and in the NFL. He was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the fifth round of the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. He played high school football at

J.O. Johnson High School James Oliver Johnson High School, more commonly referred to as J.O. Johnson High School or J.O.J., was a public high school located in the northwest area of Huntsville, Alabama. The school served grades 9 through 12. It was home to an Internat ...

in Huntsville, Alabama. He was the defensive assistant/linebackers coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League until his termination on January 5, 2017. Willis also played for the Philadelphia Eagles,

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, and the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the now defunct XFL.

Playing career

Willis was drafted in the 5th round (119th overall) by the

in the

. Willis shares the record for the longest interception return in Philadelphia Eagles history after scoring on a 104-yard interception against the Dallas Cowboys in ; after intercepting Troy Aikman four yards into the endzone, Willis returned the pick 14 yards before lateraling to

Troy Vincent Troy Darnell Vincent (born June 8, 1970) is a former American football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Dolphins as the 7th ...

, who returned the remainder 90 yards for the score.

Coaching career

Upon the dissolution of the XFL, Willis decided to retire as a player and returned to Auburn to work towards completing his college degree. He became a student assistant for the Auburn Tigers football team in 2001 and became a defensive graduate assistant in 2003 under defensive coordinator Gene Chizik.

Rhode Island Rams

In 2004, Willis took his first coaching job as the linebackers coach of the Rhode Island Rams.

Temple Owls

In 2005, Willis was hired for the same position by Temple University.

Auburn Tigers

In 2006, Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville hired Willis to return to his alma mater as the linebackers coach under new

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Will Muschamp. When Muschamp left for Texas, his replacement Paul Rhoads kept Willis on staff. When coach Tuberville resigned from Auburn in 2008, the entire staff was initially released by new head coach Gene Chizik, however on December 26, 2008 Willis was retained to again coach linebackers.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Although initially thought to return to Auburn, Willis was hired by Alabama's head coach Nick Saban to be the Crimson Tide's associate head coach and outside linebackers coach on January 21, 2009. During his one season with Alabama, the Crimson Tide defeated the Texas Longhorns in the

2010 BCS National Championship Game The 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was played between the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was ...

Texas Tech Red Raiders

On January 13, 2010, Willis agreed to join head coach Tommy Tuberville to serve as the new defensive coordinator for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team. Prior to the

2011 TicketCity Bowl The 2011 TicketCity Bowl was a college football bowl game played at Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The game was played on January 1, 2011, at 12:00 p.m. ET and was telecast on ESPNU. This game replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic, which moved ...

, Willis allegedly left the program to pursue other career opportunities after a domestic disturbance call at his home.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

On February 7, 2013, Willis agreed to become the new defensive coordinator for the Ragin Cajuns.

New Orleans Saints

On February 11, 2015, it was reported that Willis left the Ragin' Cajuns to become a defensive assistant/linebackers coach for the Saints. He was fired from the Saints on January 5, 2017

Northlake Christian

In 2019 it was announced that James would be the head football coach at Northlake Christian high school.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio

NFL.com info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, James 1972 births Living people African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football American football linebackers Auburn Tigers football players Green Bay Packers players Philadelphia Eagles players Seattle Seahawks players Birmingham Thunderbolts players Rhode Island Rams football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Hartford Colonials coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Huntsville, Alabama 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople