Kyle Williams Season 2025
Kyle Williams, a former All-America defensive tackle at LSU, joined the Tiger coaching staff in March of 2025 and serves as the interior defensive line coach for the program.
Williams, who spent 13 years in the NFL with Buffalo Bills, joins the Tigers after five seasons as the defensive coordinator at Ruston (La.) High School where he helped the Bearcats to the 2023 Division I non-select state title. The Bearcats reached the state championship game in 2024.
Williams returned to LSU after a 13-year NFL career with the Buffalo Bills. In his 13 seasons with the Bills, Williams played in the Pro Bowl six times and earned All-Pro honors in 2010.
As a player for the Tigers, Williams served as the anchor of a defense that ranked among the nation’s best during his four seasons at LSU. Williams twice earned All-SEC honors and was named first-team All-America as a senior in 2005.
As a sophomore in 2003, Williams started the final eight games of the season for the Tigers, helping LSU to a 13-1 record and a victory over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship. LSU’s 2003 defense led the nation in total yards allowed per game (252.0) and points allowed per contest (11.0).
He capped his career with the Tigers starting 33 consecutive games and with 140 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks. With Williams in the starting lineup, LSU went 28-5 and advanced to the SEC Championship Game twice, winning the league title in 2003 and later claiming the BCS National Championship.
Williams finished his LSU career in 2005, helping the Tigers to an 11-2 overall mark and a berth in the SEC Championship Game. He earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2005 after second-team recognition in 2004. He was also named a first-team All-America by Rivals.com following his senior season in 2005.
Williams was one of four permanent team captains for the Tigers in 2005.
He was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Bills and went on to become one of the most adored players in franchise history. He started 178 games during his 13-year career with Buffalo, earning All-Pro honors six times. During his career with the Bills, he recorded 609 tackles, 103 tackles for loss and 48.5 sacks.
In the Bills’ 2017 season finale, he ran for a 1-yard TD at Miami and that win lifted Buffalo into the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. Individually, his best season came in 2013 with 10.5 sacks, 68 tackles and 22 quarterback hits. When he retired, Williams ranked second in franchise history in tackles (609), sixth in sacks with 48 ½, still best ever by a Bills’ tackle.
He retired from the NFL following the 2018 season. After his retirement from the NFL, Williams served as defensive coordinator at his alma mater Ruston High School from 2020-2024, helping the Bearcats to the state title in 2023 followed by a runner-up finish in 2024.
During his prep career at Ruston, Williams – also a baseball letterman and a shot-putter in track and field — earned Class 5A Defensive MVP honors with 78 tackles, 17 for losses, seven sacks, four fumble recoveries and an interception as a senior. As a freshman, he helped Ruston to the 1998 state championship game, rushing for 942 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Bearcats.
Williams, a native of Ruston, is a 2020 graduate of Louisiana Tech. He and his wife Jill have five children – Kate, Anna, Harrison, Gray and Bennett.
Williams was enshrined into the Louisianan Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. He’s also been inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame (2019).
Away from football, Williams is a scratch golfer and finished runner-up at the celebrity American Century Championships in Lake Tahoe in 2020. He also earned a berth in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2019.
Kyle Williams File
Year at LSU: First (as a coach)
Birthdate: June 10, 1983
Hometown: Ruston, La.
College: LSU
Wife: Jill
Children: Kate, Anna, Harrison, Gray, Bennett
Coaching Experience
2020-24 Ruston (La.) High School (defensive coordinator)
2025 LSU (interior defensive line)