The Northeast Florida sports community is mourning the loss of Bob Williams, a former football coach at Orange Park High School, who died of an apparent heart attack at his home Monday. Williams, 64, coached at Orange Park from 1988 until his retirement after the 1996 season. His 1992 team had a 12-1 record and advanced to the state Class 5A semifinals. Williams also coached Wolfson and Citrus high schools and the minor league Jacksonville Firebirds of the old American Football Association. "Bob was a great coach but more important, he was a gentleman and a good man and that is why he will be missed," said Orange Park High School Principal Sam Ward. "This has devastated everyone around the school because he was just here a few days ago. "There are not a lot of smiles around here. Everyone who knew him liked him." Bill Shields, Williams' successor at Orange Park, said Williams was a welcome visitor to games and practices after his retirement. Shields said he had a lot of respect for Williams because he helped so many people. Williams made a name for himself when his Wolfson teams were state runners-up two years in a row in the late 1960s. One of his players at Wolfson, Jeff Rouzie, now an assistant football coach at the University of Alabama, credited Williams with helping his career. "Coach Williams was very instrumental with me choosing a direction to go in coaching," Rouzie said in a telephone interview. "He could have given up on me several times but he didn't. His presence was felt very deeply in my life. "I was impressed with his intelligence because he knew how to motivate kids." John Chappell, former Middleburg football coach and now vice principal at Wilkinson Junior High School, said he and Williams memories while at Middleburg was standing across the sidelines from Williams during the last game of the season. "I remember thinking during our game that `here I am coaching against a legend like Bob Williams,' " Chappell said.