His coaching staff, along with Williams, were fired at the end of the season. Cleveland Browns Williams was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns on January 7, 2017. On October 29, 2018, following head coach Hue Jackson's dismissal, Williams was named the Browns interim head coach, while Freddie Kitchens was named interim offensive coordinator. Williams guided the Browns to a 5–3 record, including a credible showing against the Kansas City Chiefs, and was responsible for the emergence of Baker Mayfield as the team's quarterback. There was growing support for Williams to take over as head coach on a permanent basis, although his previous history as Bills head coach and the Bountygate scandal may have hurt his cause. Following the appointment of offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens as permanent head coach, Williams and several defensive coaching assistants were let go by the Browns. With a .625 winning percentage in eight games as coach, he was the first head coach since Marty Schottenheimer in 1988 to leave Cleveland with a winning record as coach. New York Jets On January 16, 2019, Williams was hired as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets under new head coach Adam Gase. While the Jets offense struggled, Williams led the Jets to seventh in the NFL in overall defense including second against the run. On December 7, 2020, Williams was fired from the Jets following a 31–28 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The firing came after Williams called a controversial zero blitz on a Hail Mary play as an attempt to sack Derek Carr. However, Carr found Henry Ruggs open, beating corner Lamar Jackson for a game-winning touchdown with five seconds left, thus dropping the Jets to 0–12. Personal life Williams has been married twice and has three children; two sons and a daughter from his first marriage. Head coaching record NFL * – Interim head coach References 1958 births Living people Buffalo Bills head coaches Cleveland Browns coaches High school football coaches in Missouri Houston Cougars football coaches Houston Oilers coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches National Football League defensive coordinators New Orleans Saints coaches New York Jets coaches People from Excelsior Springs, Missouri St. Louis Rams coaches Tennessee Oilers coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Truman State University alumni Washington Redskins coaches Cleveland Browns head coaches