Ex Argo Ricky Williams bringing his deep thoughts approach to coaching. Pinball Clemons approves

Coach Ricky Williams. Best idea ever. Worst idea ever.

Seems there are two schools of thought on the mercurial former CFL and NFL running back. Either he's a flake and a washout who could have been so much more, or he's an intelligent, original thinker. I opt for the latter perspective, and wonder if the pitfalls he's experienced and the pratfalls he's executed throughout his adult life might not make him very well suited to helping develop a new generation of football players.

Williams, the can't-miss, superstar tailback who burst onto the NFL scene and ran opposing linebackers and defensive backs ragged (after first leaving linemen grasping at air as he blew through a hole) and then fell from grace - on a number of occasions - is reinventing himself as a coach with a small, off-the-beaten path university in San Antonio, Texas.

Perfect.

That Williams would begin a new chapter at such a location is no surprise. The path less chosen is one he's seemed to prefer time and time again.

Ever heard of the University Of The Incarnate Word, a Division I school?

Me neither. Nor had Michael "Pinball" Clemons, the all-time Argos' great who coached the team to a Grey Cup Championship in 2004 and was still head coach when Williams wore the "A" two years later.

"He really is a guy who has had a vast set of experiences," offered Clemons, when asked about the qualities Williams possesses. Qualities that might be beneficial to him as a coach. "Some good, some not so good," he continued. "So he has a message that will resonate, especially when you’re talking about young people."

Clemons - who knows a thing or two about human connection and resonance - was asked whether those who summarily dismiss Williams as a flighty scatterbrain have missed out.

"Oh my goodness, yes. Yes. It’s terrible, I believe," was his emphatic answer.

Williams is a coach I'd like to have. His obvious football knowledge when it comes to technique and game preparation are part of that. His capacity for deliberate thought and propensity to look for deeper answers can make him a superior mentor. Williams thinks so, telling Associated Press:

Clemons agrees with that assessment:

"He can give a lot of overall commentary. For me, he wouldn’t be a guy who can just talk about x’s and o’s. He’d be a guy who would take interest in these young athletes and who they are. Helping them come to grips with some of the things they might be going through."

Ricky Williams is no genius. Or just maybe he is. I happen to think that if we ever really get a handle on a clear cut definition of the mysterious one, it will be that it comes to rest more closely to the 'tortured intelligence' area of the spectrum than the 'irrational' portion.

More than a few observers offered an incredulous response when Williams decided to head north to play with the Toronto Argonauts in something called the Canadian Football League back in 2006. He'd been suspended a year from NFL eligibility after running afoul of the league's substance abuse policy. There was admitted marijuana use. Williams could have sat out the year and taught yoga. Or gone into hiding. Retreated.

Instead, when the Argonauts came calling, he responded positively. That's the point, though. Ricky Williams is not, nor has he ever been, shy about the idea of reinvention. Not shy about picking what many would deem a far off outpost as the setting for that reinvention. The Argos, under Clemons, were famous for giving shots to players who had talent, but might also be - shall we say - struggling with personal issues.

"All of us have gotten a second chance because none of us are perfect," reasons Clemons.

What I personally remember about Williams from that year is that I found him compelling and gracious off the field. On the field, I observed a football player who was happy to pick up the blitz, happy to throw a block for someone else and, of course, happy to get the rock and attempt to barge through the opposition.

I thought Williams' remarks while he was an Argonaut were often taken only at face value - or worse than that - with a heavy dose of inference. Not that he's somehow special in that. One of the great maladies of modern communication is the insistence of the listener that they know what someone really means, rather than asking for clarification.

In that, I have a recollection of Williams getting flak when he was asked a question about how he'd perform that week against a particular opponent, or how they'd perform against him. Something like that.

"Who cares?" was his reply as it was to a follow up.

Of course, Williams didn't mean 'who cares?' about how he'd perform. He meant 'who cares?' about how he thought he'd perform and he tried to explain it. That what really mattered was how he did perform in that game.

No matter. The story was that Williams didn't care.

That he was uncaring was not an accurate portrayal, says Clemons. Williams, he found, was thoughtful and dedicated. It's just that he was dedicated to things outside of football as well. Including other people.

"People that I’ve talked to in just his experience here, he’s had a positive impact on," said Clemons. "That influence of preparing yourself. And looking at life a little bit differently."

"He’s a guy who truly believes in people."

I didn't ask Clemons about Williams' past drug use, because I don't personally find it relevant. You might. That's what the 'comments' section below this column is for. Feel free. However, I quite doubt that Ricky Williams will be meeting students of Incarnate Word behind the gym after class to deal out baggies of ganja.

Nor do I believe there's some question as to whether a man who has much more than football on his mind can be a good coach. We've all seen that it can be so. Pinball knows this and believes Williams has a chance to excel on the sidelines the way he did between them.

"Undoubtedly so," Clemons said firmly. "He’s got great presence. He will get the ear. Then, he’s a very smart guy. You’ve heard him articulate before. He doesn’t just know football."

That doesn't mean it's clear sailing for Ricky Williams, football coach.

While Clemons thinks his former protege has the qualities necessary to be "a temendous coach," he cannot merely assume it will be.

"He now has an opportunity to operate at another level. And he has to go out and prove it. Regardless of the tools he has, he’s still got to go out an become a great (football) coach."

In other words, it is in the doing for Ricky Williams. Running back, yoga instructor, seeker of knowledge, pariah in some circles, football coach.

How he and the rest of us think he'll do?

To quote the man from his days as an Argonaut:

"Who cares?"