EAGAN, Minn. – The Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday announced the hiring of Tyler Williams as executive director of player health and performance. Williams spent the past 15 seasons with the Rams in both St. Louis and Los Angeles, serving as the team's director of sports science/assistant athletic trainer during their Super Bowl LVI victory.
"Tyler led the cutting-edge sports science efforts with the Rams that played a huge role in the success there," said Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell. "He is extremely bright and a great leader. I'm excited about the positive impact he will make for the Minnesota Vikings."
Williams, who worked with O'Connell from 2020-21, was named the NFC recipient of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society's (PFATS) Tim Davey Assistant Athletic Trainer of the Year after the 2020 season. Named after longtime New York Jets assistant athletic trainer Tim Davey, the award is "emblematic of the commitment, dedication and high level of integrity that Davey brought to the profession of athletic training and is representative of his level of service which he dedicated to his surrounding community."
In 2015, Williams was a member of a Rams athletic training staff that won PFATS' Ed Block NFL Athletic Training Staff of the Year Award, which is voted on by the PFATS membership and recognizes one NFL athletic training staff annually for their distinguished service to their club, community and the athletic training profession.
Along with his involvement in PFATS and serving as their director of internal education since 2017, Williams is the president of the PFATs Foundation. He chairs the Sports Science Task Force of Research & Innovation Committee, is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), and serves on the Lower Extremity Task Force for the NFL Musculoskeletal Community.
Prior to joining the Rams in 2007, Williams was the assistant athletic trainer at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri, from 2006-07. Williams holds a master's degree from California University of Pennsylvania, earning a Performance Enhancement Specialist certification. He completed his bachelor's degree in exercise science, emphasizing athletic training at Truman State University.
The Vikings also hired Grant Udinski (U-din-skee) as assistant to the head coach/special projects. Udinski, who will assist O'Connell on the day-to-day coaching operations across the organization and lead efforts on special projects, joins the Vikings after spending the past two seasons with the Carolina Panthers as a coaching assistant.
