Mesquite ISD named San Antonio Sam Houston head coach Jeremy Williams the next head football coach West Mesquite on Thursday.

Williams takes over at West Mesquite for Stephen Jackson, who departed WMHS earlier this month to take the same position at Lancaster.

Williams is a Dallas native. He graduated from Dallas Carter where he played for THSCA Hall of Honor coach Allen Wilson and then Willliams went on to a playing career at Baylor University.

“I actually lived off Bruton Rd., which is less than minutes from West as a child, so when I was a kid I always admired West Mesquite," Williams said. "It’s surreal to be named the next head coach. I know the blue-collar nature of the area and how hard this community works. Then when I checked out the facilities it was amazing to see the investment in the community from Mesquite ISD."

Williams began his coaching career at his alma mater Dallas Carter where he worked his high school coach Allen Wilson. Williams then moved to La Grange where he coached defensive backs and served as the head track coach. He then moved to Kyle Lehman where served as the defensive coordinator and head track coach before making the move to San Antonio in 2018 where he became the defensive coordinator and head track coach at Sam Houston. In 2020, Williams moved over to San Antonio YMLA to start the program there, moving to the offensive side of the ball and was the offensive coordinator and head track coach.

In 2022, Williams was named head football coach at Sam Houston High School on the eastside of San Antonio and in four years he led the Hurricanes to the playoffs three times and posted a 23-20 overall record. This was done with the Hurricanes playing at the Class 5A-Division II level despite having a 4A-Division II enrollment.

The new West Mesquite coach says the vibe with Mesquite administration was outstanding from the start. 

“We did the first interview on Zoom and it just felt great and it felt like home," Williams said. "We laughed so much and it was just a great vibe in the conversation. It never felt like an interview, more like a conversation among friends. Then when I went for the second interview in person, that feeling was even stronger."

Williams takes over a program that has had a high standard set for the past two years as the Wranglers are fresh off an 11-2 campaign.

“Coach Jackson did an amazing job. I love what he did at West," he said. "I was an admirer of the job he and his staff did from a distance. The work his staff and the kids did made this job attractive. I’ve got a ton of respect for what’s been built here."

Williams said the next few weeks will be a whirlwind as he tries to sell his house in San Antonio and get his wife and children up to Dallas, but he’s ready to embrace the challenge with hard work.

“We value integrity and doing things the right way," Williams said. "We are going to work. We are not lowering the standard. We want to take what Coach Jackson started, the foundation that was laid and build on it. I want to treat people right and if you do that and work hard the rest will take care of itself.”