HENDERSON, Nev. – Marquice Williams has been named senior assistant-special teams coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, the club announced Thursday.
Williams brings 10 years of NFL coaching experience to the Silver and Black, including the past five seasons as the special teams coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons (2021-25). He also has had stints as a special teams coach with the Los Angeles Chargers (2016-17) and Detroit Lions (2019-20).
Last season, Williams worked with P Bradley Pinion, who recorded 64 punts for 2,889 yards (45.1 avg., 40.6 net), three touchbacks and 34 punts inside the 20. Pinion set the franchise record for punts inside the 20 in a single season (34), most in the NFL, and finished tied for fourth in the NFL with 12 punts placed inside the 10-yard line. Williams utilized multiple kickers in 2025 and helped K Zane Gonzalez finish 19-of-22 on field goals (86.4%) and 17-of-18 extra points (94.4) for a total of 74 points. Gonzalez was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 12, becoming the second Falcons kicker to make two field goals of 54-plus yards in a single game (54, 56).
In 2024, Williams mentored special teamer KhaDarel Hodge, who was elected to the Pro Bowl in 2024. Hodge recovered a muffed punt for a touchdown in Week 4 and earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 15 as he recorded two blocked punts. He also helped K Younghoe Koo connect on 25-of-34 field goal attempts in addition to making a perfect 26-for-26 extra points for a total of 101 points.
In 2023, Williams helped Koo connect on 32-of-37 field goal attempts (86.5 percent) in addition to making 27-of-28 extra points for a total of 123 points scored, en route to earning two NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors (Weeks 7 and 16). In 2022, Atlanta was one of two teams to have special teams units score multiple touchdowns during the season. The Falcons also blocked multiple punts for the first time in a season since at least 2000. Atlanta's returners excelled under Williams, as Cordarrelle Patterson's recorded a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the ninth of his career, setting an NFL record for the most career kickoff return touchdowns in NFL history. Koo closed the season making 12-of-12 field goal attempts, including three from 50-plus, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December and January.
In his first season with Atlanta in 2021, Williams helped Koo connect on 27-of-29 field goal attempts and all 30 of his PATs while leading the league with three game-winning field goals. P Thomas Morstead punted 22 times for 1,015 yards (46.1 avg.), including 11 inside the 20-yard line, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 12 and NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December. In the return game, Avery Williams returned 23 kickoffs for 490 yards (21.3 avg.), 20 punt returns for 153 yards (7.7 avg.) and totaled six special teams tackles, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Williams joined the Falcons after spending two seasons (2019-20) with the Detroit Lions, where he served as an assistant special teams coach. He was promoted to interim special teams coordinator for the final two games of the 2020 season. During that time, he helped Jamal Agnew total 1,237 yards on 45 kickoff returns – the fourth-most in the NFL – while averaging 27.5 yards per return. Agnew tied for the league lead with two return touchdowns in 2019. With Williams' assistance, K Matt Prater converted 47-of-59 field goal attempts, including 10-of-13 from 50-plus yards with a long kick of 59 yards.
In 2020, under Williams' tutelage, Lions P Jack Fox recorded the highest gross average (49.1) and net average (44.8) in a punter's first season in NFL history. Additionally, Fox's 44.8 net average was the third highest in a single season in league history. The rookie punter became the first Lions punter to be named to the Pro Bowl since 1988 and earned AP Second-Team All-Pro honors. Also in 2020, Prater connected on his 59th-career made field goal of at least 50 yards, surpassing Sebastian Janikowski (58) for the most made field goals of 50-or-more yards in NFL history.
Prior to joining the Lions in 2019, he spent three seasons (2016-18) with the Los Angeles Chargers coaching staff. As a defensive assistant with the Chargers in 2018, Williams assisted the ninth-best defensive unit (333.7 yards per game) in the league and guided rookie S Derwin James Jr. and veteran S Adrian Phillips to their first career Pro Bowl. Williams began his coaching career in 2010 as the linebackers/assistant special teams coach at Winona State University before moving on to assistant coaching positions with Central Oklahoma (2011) and South Dakota (2012-15).
In 2015, Williams participated in the NFL's Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship program with the Lions, where he served as a coaching intern for linebackers and special teams. Williams got his first opportunity with the Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Chicago Bears from 2013-14. He also served as the special teams coordinator for the East/West Shrine Game in 2017 and 2018.
A native of Fresno, Calif., Williams was a two-year starter at defensive back at Fresno City College before going on to start at the University of Mary (N.D.) from 2006-07.
