Doug Williams’ Story Will Be A Movie

June 13th, 2020

The Buccaneers’ first true franchise quarterback (1978-1982), Doug Williams, a front-office honcho with the Redskins and a friend of JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman, will finally have a big-screen movie made about his story.

If you don’t know Williams’ story, well, it’s riddled with him fighting for a career against many racist forces in the NFL, including former Bucs ownership and Tampa Bay fans sending him death threats.

It also saw him win a Super Bowl with Washington as a backup turned starter.

“There are no better individuals than Will Packer and James Lopez to really tell my story,” said Williams, via Deadline.com. “Their unparalleled success in moviemaking ensures that my journey will be told with the upmost authenticity. I am very excited to be working with Will Packer Productions.”

Packer and James Lopez will serve as producers through Will Packer Productions and will assign a writer in due course.

Their L.A.-based firm has accounted for 10 films that have opened at No. 1 at the U.S. box office, including Girls Trip and Night School, the top-grossing comedies of 2017 and 2018, respectively. Other hits include What Men Want, the Ride Along franchise, Breaking InThe Wedding Ringer and No Good Deed. Universal pic The Photograph was the company’s most recent release.

Joe’s happy for Williams and hopes he got fat check for his story. Joe sure hopes there’s filming in Tampa versus some sort of phony Hollywood.

60 Responses to “Doug Williams’ Story Will Be A Movie”

  1. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Cool!

  2. Iamabuc Says:

    It is very cool…when you think about it, he is as close as you can get to the “First True Buccaneer” analogy ..good for him and well deserved..

  3. CalBucsFan Says:

    About time Doug’s story is told too.

  4. lambchop Says:

    The best QB in Bucs history given what little he had to work with and what all he had to deal with off the field and with Hugh Culverhouse. Taking an 0-26 team to the NFC Championship game in his 2nd year? Easily the best in Bucs history. He would have changed the face of this franchise a long time ago if Culverhouse wasn’t a miser. For all you Jameis homers, the best QB in Bucs history means TEAM history – not Bucs personal stats history.

    Long overdue.

  5. lambchop Says:

    Doug Williams elevated the Bucs team and took them to the playoffs 3 out of 5 years.

  6. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Well said lambchop!

  7. Jonathan Limpchimpi Says:

    The heavy handed Hugh Culverhouse will be played by fellow silver fox Ira Kaufman.

  8. AlteredEgo Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation. Says:

    Who will play Hugh ?

  9. El Buco Realisto Says:

    @Joe

    Any truth to the rumor, that in the sequel, Matt Damon will play talk show dominik who will back-stab and undermine Mr William’s thru his front office career in Tampa?????????

    go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. Steven007 Says:

    Imagine a starting quarterback today, not a second or third stinger who was thrust into starter status, but rather an ingrained starter being 51st or so on the QB salary list below all starters and almost all backups.That was Doug’s reality and it is unprecedented.

  11. rrsrq Says:

    I know Mr. Packer (FAMU graduate) will do awesome with the Doug Williams (Grambling Univ graduate) biopic. Looking forward to it.

  12. Joe in Michigan Says:

    Who will play the part of Doug Williams? It would’ve been Carl Weathers back in the day.

  13. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Steven007 Says:
    June 13th, 2020 at 2:31 pm
    Imagine a starting quarterback today, not a second or third stinger who was thrust into starter status, but rather an ingrained starter being 51st or so on the QB salary list below all starters and almost all backups.That was Doug’s reality and it is unprecedented.
    ________

    And yet Doug never felt the need to proclaim his greatness.
    Says a lot about his character.

    My favorite Bucs QB.

  14. SB Says:

    Doug was Overrated his entire time here.
    Love the Bucs’s franchise but lets not pretend that we wasted a generational talent.

  15. Rod Munch Says:

    I hope it’s better than the Ricky Bell TV movie…

    I can still hear the kid yelling “riicckkkyyy…. riiccckkkyyyy bbeeeelllll” in my head. It’s been nearly 30-years and I’ll still just randomly yell that as I walk around my house.

  16. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Doug Williams, one of two Buc Quarterbacks to lose a NFC Championship game when his defense gave up only 9 points…..the other, Joe’s favorite, Sean King.

    1979 NFC Championship……..LA Rams 9 Tampa Bay 0……Doug Williams 2-12 for 12 yards……

    In the rain……TBBF was there….

  17. Joe in Michigan Says:

    I thought it was sunny that day. I thought it rained like crazy for the Chiefs game at the end of the season.

  18. Locked In Says:

    Love Doug, but I was at the 1982 playoff game at Dallas. What a gruesome day.
    Got whipped 38 -0 and the Bucs never crossed the 50 yard line on offense the whole game. I’m looking at the stats for that game: Williams 10 for 29. 187 yards 4 INT, 4 sacks, QB rating 18.1

  19. Locked In Says:

    And I had my Bucs gear on! Talk about a long, sad slow walk to the parking lot

  20. bojim Says:

    Well deserved!

  21. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Joe in Michigan Says:
    June 13th, 2020 at 5:13 pm
    I thought it was sunny that day. I thought it rained like crazy for the Chiefs game at the end of the season.

    Seemed to me there were some drizzles……maybe tears……very frustrating game….just couldn’t move the ball…..in it until late…here it is.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jow5Fi4sdWs

  22. Ship Thief Says:

    SB

    Go pound sand.

    They are making a movie because it is a story worth telling.

    Your attitude sucks.

  23. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Tampabaybucfan Says:
    June 13th, 2020 at 4:54 pm
    Doug Williams, one of two Buc Quarterbacks to lose a NFC Championship game when his defense gave up only 9 points…..the other, Joe’s favorite, Sean King.

    1979 NFC Championship……..LA Rams 9 Tampa Bay 0……Doug Williams 2-12 for 12 yards……

    In the rain……TBBF was there….
    _____

    Doosh was there too and it wasn’t raining…., it was freaking cold.

    Doosh was also at the KC monsoon game when the goal posts came down, I think you have it confused TBBF.

  24. Joe in Michigan Says:

    TBBF: I’ve avoided watching that all these years, it was misery the time I saw it on live TV.

  25. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Doosh…..maybe so…..traveled to several games that year from Charlotte….

    What’s cool is our very first ever game was a preseason game vs the Rams….I threw a party and had programs from the game flown it…….still have a couple.
    We lost that game too…26-3

  26. DoooshLaRue Says:

    TBBF:

    Jan 6, 1980 · Los Angeles Rams 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 on January 6th, 1980 – Full team and player stats and box score.
    Weather*: 45 degrees, relative humidity 64%, wind 8 mph

  27. Capt.Tim Says:

    (Sigh)
    Dumbasses

    Doug didnt lose the NFC championship game, when the defense gave up 9 points.
    Doug’s back up list the game.
    Doug Williams suffered a broken jaw in the first half, and was out of the game.
    I know- because I was there.

    So glad they are making a movie of his life- still a fan of the man!

  28. Dark Mominick Says:

    legacy of the bucs. “WE GOT THE GUY!” at the wrong time….

  29. Wesley Says:

    Cool only all of those movies mentioned blow.

  30. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Capt Tim…

    You are technically correct…..but he did start and only went 2-12 with an interception…..so he certainly shares the credit for the loss…..

  31. Mike Johnson Says:

    I remember that year when Culverhouse refused to pay Doug Williams. And it was not a lot of money as far as QB’s went. Just one in a very long line of..BucLife miscues over the decades.

  32. Tampabuscsbro Says:

    It’s amazing how different bucs history would be if someone who wasn’t an old cheapskate racist. I had a professor who wrote a book about George Steinbrenner. I asked him in class one day if Hugh Culverhouse was the worst owner in the history of north american sports. I couldn’t even finish my comment when he said Yes. There was never a worse owner I think. Even the early Rays owner wasn’t has horrid.

  33. Aceofaerospace Says:

    As a Bucs fan, I’ll die embarrassed by how Doug Williams was treated.

  34. Aceofaerospace Says:

    By the way, I was at that game also. It was not raining.

  35. DoooshLaRue Says:

    ^^^^^
    Damn we’re old!
    😀

  36. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Larry Ball was the first Buccaneer. A LB.

    Speaking of which, there was good reason the Bucs lost all of their games. The expansion draft was made up of aged veterans and medical information was withheld.

    Ended up with 17 players on injured reserve that year.

  37. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    I was in Smithville, Texas that year…a kid. My father had us following the Bucs from the start though.

  38. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Hugh Culverhouse….. horrible owner yes

    But he got a NFL franchise for 5 million so ah, there’s that.

  39. Joe in Michigan Says:

    The thing I remember most about that game, other than the Bucs losing, was the kicker for the Rams talking trash. That was over 40 years ago, though.

  40. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    University of Houston halts workouts after six athletes test positive for COVID-19

  41. Colonel Angus Says:

    Joe in Michigan Says:
    June 13th, 2020 at 3:41 pm
    Who will play the part of Doug Williams? It would’ve been Carl Weathers back in the day.

    My guess would be The Rock! He’s in just about every movie these days.

  42. teacherman777 Says:

    he received death threats while in Tampa

  43. Stanglassman Says:

    The rams vs Bucs ‘79 full game is on YouTube for those who care to watch it. I prefer to watch the prior Eagles game myself. Both are available.

  44. TheDood Says:

    Shows you the racism to imagine this poor man received death threats from racist assholes while trying to fix a 0-26 team into a contender.

    That wasn’t very long ago. The Civil Rights movement continues and Williams is a good man and an eloquent speaker. Good for him.

    As for the racists, well Doug sports a Super Bowl ring while you jerks still live in your Mam-maw’s single wide trailer! 🙂

  45. adam from ny Says:

    back in those days, somehow i figured out how to write a personal letter to players on the bucs…and if you did, they actually would respond and send back an autographed 8.5″ x 11″ autographed black and white photograph…yes hand signed..i wrote to doug and ricky bell…and maybe leeroy…and yes i got a cool envelope back!

    this is a true story, i had a few pretty cool autographed pics of the bucs stars as a little kid… gotta dig them up from the archives when i get a minute

  46. Buczilla Says:

    Doug Williams was a good quarterback who endured a ton of bs that he shouldn’t have had to go through. Despite being screwed over by our piece of filth former owner, he went on to accomplish great things. I’m glad that he is being recognized.

    Doug never put up great numbers, but he also played during a time when defenses were actually allowed to touch qb’s and wide recievers. If he had played with today’s sissya$$ rules, he would have been a borderline hall of famer like Eli Manning.

  47. Rasim Kut Says:

    After the Bucs, I loyally followed Doug in USFL and only found out he was back in the the NFL while watching extra coverage one Sunday afternoon on CBS. All I know was I got tons of flack for being a white kid who was a Doug Williams fan back then. I hope the movie portrays the story as it really happened because it truly is the ultimate story of human perseverance.

  48. Beej Says:

    Tampabaybucfan Says:
    June 13th, 2020 at 4:54 pm
    Doug Williams, one of two Buc Quarterbacks to lose a NFC Championship game when his defense gave up only 9 points…..the other, Joe’s favorite, Sean King.

    1979 NFC Championship……..LA Rams 9 Tampa Bay 0……Doug Williams 2-12 for 12 yards……

    In the rain……TBBF was there….

    I was at that miserable game too

  49. TOM Says:

    WOW! I can’t hardly wait. (HA HA)

  50. Sauron's eye Says:

    My happiest moment for an EX Buc player was Doug winning the Super Bowl with the Redskins. He played a lights out game and displayed his talent on the worlds biggest stage.

  51. Rod Munch Says:

    I’m 45, the first Bucs game I remember was the Dallas playoff loss at the end of the 82 season, I believe. In any case I really don’t remember anyone disliking Williams, everyone I remember hated Culverhouse for letting him go. Later, I clearly remember everyone I knew of cheering him with the Redskins when he won the SB and again hated Culverhouse for letting him go. That’s my memory of events from when I can first remember anything – but it’s a lot less interesting of a story and not really movie material.

  52. Owlykat Says:

    Of all the Bucs QBs that I followed from Spurrier all the way to today, Williams was my favorite Buc QB. I was at the Ole Sombrero when Williams with the genius of Joe Gibbs, our Offensive Coordinator at the first ever playoff game against an overwhelming favorite Philadelphia Eagle Team. Gibbs figured out that Williams could win by executing new plays in that game by Williams sprinting toward the sidelines and throwing on the run. They had Ricky Bell running the ball well to keep the Eagles guessing on every play and Williams won that game and got us to the NFC Championship Game with the Rams which was lost by our backup QB with the small hands; yet the final score was only 9-0. Williams was screwed by Culverhouse who ran him off. But I watched the Super Bowl Game when Gibbs used Williams to win that game for the Red Skins and I was so proud to see Williams play the greatest game of his career and earn a Super Bowl Ring!

  53. 1sparkybuc Says:

    I guess most here don’t remember the curse Doug put on the Bucs when he didn’t get the money he wanted. Stark contrast to the most recent team departures. Williams holds the season and career record lows for completion percentage for the franchise, if not the league. He could throw a ball through a brick wall. It was like he dared his receivers to catch the ball. Very inaccurate and absolutely no touch. Threw the ball out of bounds easily within range of the end zone, to stop the clock, on 4th down. 15 or 20 seconds left in the game. Choked in the big game. Standup guy, refused guaranteed money from his team when the league folded, and played great for Washington, but the Defense won games for the Bucs when he was here. Any offense came from the ground attack. Jameis Winston would have dominated the league with that Defense. Doug sucked.

  54. adam from ny Says:

    yeah doug wasn’t very good…it’s true if you’re a realist…

    if i’m correct he was one of the earlier afro- american quarterbacks to be an nfl starter tho…

    came out of grambling too..

    and you can’t front…

    doug williams to kevin house on some of those long bombs was an absolute thing of beauty back then

  55. Barack's Crack Pipe Says:

    Joe in Michigan Says:
    “TBBF: I’ve avoided watching that all these years, it was misery the time I saw it on live TV.”
    .
    .

    Try to stay positive. If you watch that replay, key on Selmon. Lee Roy was at his best, playing sideline to sideline like an all pro linebacker. Except he’s not a linebacker. LOL

  56. Barack's Crack Pipe Says:

    Capt.Tim Says:
    “Doug Williams suffered a broken jaw in the first half, and was out of the game.”
    .
    .
    One of the Youngblood brothers broke his jaw. Jack or Jim, I forget which.

    Doug opened the next season still recovering, with an elaborate face mask which extended way down on the broken side of his face.

  57. Barack's Crack Pipe Says:

    Wesley Says:
    “Cool only all of those movies mentioned blow.”
    .
    .
    I take offense to this statement. Nothing Mario Van Peebles (The Ricky Bell Story) made ever sucked. LOL Wat?

  58. Rob In Land O Lakes Says:

    I know we do not all agree on a great deal here,… But if he was alive now, Actor Sorrell Booke who played Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazzard, would be hands-down the best candidate to play Hugh Culverhouse. Prove me wrong, lol

  59. Pete I Says:

    My first Bucs game I attended was Williams first game, 1978 vs the Giants.

    The Bucs lost of course and IIRC Williams second pass was a pick 6 for the Giants.

    Nevertheless you could see he was better than the previous QBs and the future felt bright.

  60. unbelievable Says:

    He was a class act all the way around.

    Far classier than the majority of this fan base lol.