Aric Williams was hired as the Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach in February 2022.
Williams was the defensive backs coach at San Jose State before arriving at Montana Tech. In 2020, San Jose State secondary led the Spartans to their first Mountain West championship and top-20 rankings nationally in scoring defense (15th), red-zone defense (ninth), and quarterback sacks (10th). For the first time in 30 years, the Spartans yielded less than 20 points a game for an entire season.
Also, in Williams’ first three seasons at San Jose State, he coached 2018 first-team All-Mountain West cornerback Dakari Monroe, produced a defensive secondary that contributed to the Spartans finishing ninth in pass interceptions and 20th in takeaways nationally in 2019.
Williams joined the Spartans after three seasons at the University of Idaho (2015-17). The Vandals had one of their best seasons in 2016 winning the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl with Williams coaching the team's cornerbacks. He was a University of Montana assistant coach for five seasons (2010 through 2014) and a graduate assistant coach at Arizona State University in 2009.
At Montana, he coached two-time Buck Buchanan Award finalist Trumaine Johnson. The Grizzlies played in three Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. His cornerbacks earned nine All-Big Sky Conference awards.
The 2005 Oregon State graduate majored in fine arts and was a defensive back on the 2001 through 2004 football teams, The Beavers played in three bowl games in his four seasons. In his final Oregon State game, he was the only player on either team with a pass interception in a 38-21 win over Notre Dame in the Insight Bowl. The 2004 second-team All-Pac-10 Conference defensive back concluded his college career playing in the East-West Shrine Game.
Signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as a 2005 undrafted free agent, Williams played professionally for the Philadelphia Soul (2007) and the Arizona Rattlers (2008) of the Arena Football League and Cologne Centurions (2006) of NFL Europe.
He and his wife, Kelsey, have a son, Laker.
