TAMPA — Mark Royals will always remember Richard Williamson as a straight shooter.
Williamson, who replaced Ray Perkins as coach of the Buccaneers late in the 1990 season and went 3-13 the following year, died of heart failure Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C.
He was 74.
“I was just trying to get my NFL career started at the time,’’ said Royals, who played 80 games as Tampa Bay’s punter, beginning in 1990. “One thing that stood out to me about coach Williamson was the way he treated people. No matter who they were, he treated everyone with respect and honesty.