| Bill Young | |
| Birth Date: | 17 August 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Hereford, Texas |
| Death Place: | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Player Years1: | 1965–1967 |
| Player Team1: | Oklahoma State |
| Player Positions: | Outside linebacker, defensive tackle |
| Coach Years1: | 1969 |
| Coach Team1: | Carl Albert HS (OK) (assistant) |
| Coach Years2: | 1970–1975 |
| Coach Team2: | Putnam City West HS (OK) (DC) |
| Coach Years3: | 1976–1978 |
| Coach Team3: | Oklahoma State (OL/DL) |
| Coach Years4: | 1979 |
| Coach Team4: | Iowa State (DT) |
| Coach Years5: | 1980–1982 |
| Coach Team5: | Tulsa (DL) |
| Coach Years6: | 1983–1984 |
| Coach Team6: | Tulsa (DC/DL) |
| Coach Years7: | 1985–1987 |
| Coach Team7: | Arizona State (DL) |
| Coach Years8: | 1988–1995 |
| Coach Team8: | Ohio State (DC) |
| Coach Years9: | 1996–1997 |
| Coach Team9: | Oklahoma (DC) |
| Coach Years10: | 1998–2000 |
| Coach Team10: | USC (DC) |
| Coach Years11: | 2001 |
| Coach Team11: | Detroit Lions (DL) |
| Coach Years12: | 2002–2007 |
| Coach Team12: | Kansas (DC) |
| Coach Years13: | 2008 |
| Coach Team13: | Miami (FL) (DC) |
| Coach Years14: | 2009–2012 |
| Coach Team14: | Oklahoma State (DC) |
| Coach Years15: | 2013 |
| Coach Team15: | Wyoming (DQC) |
| Coach Years16: | 2014 |
| Coach Team16: | Yukon HS (OK) |
| Coach Years17: | 2015–2018 |
| Coach Team17: | Tulsa (DC/DL) |
| Overall Record: | 4–6 |
| Awards: | Academic All-Big Eight (1967) |
William Louis Young (August 17, 1946 – March 17, 2021) was an American football coach whose career spanned more than 45 years at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. He served as the defensive coordinator at prominent college football programs like Ohio State (1988–1995), Oklahoma (1996–1997), USC (1998–2000), Miami (2008), and Oklahoma State (2009–2012).
Born in Hereford, Texas, Young attended U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1968. He later earned a master's degree from Central Oklahoma.After his senior year of high school Young was named to the Oklahoma all-state team as an alternate. Young was a defensive lineman at Oklahoma State. He started for three years and was an academic all-conference player. He was also an honorable mention all-conference player.
After graduating, Young spent six seasons as a high school coach at Carl Albert and Putnam City West before returning to Oklahoma State as a graduate assistant.
Young was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach, while at Kansas in 2007. He then orchestrated a defensive turnaround unprecedented at Oklahoma State. For once the defense was actually the bright spot on the team as it finished in the Top 35 in the nation in 2009.[1]
When hired by Oklahoma State, Young stated that he was torn between having to choose between Miami and OSU. He also went on to say "It means a lot to me to come back to OSU because I am a graduate, I played there and now we are back as part of the Cowboy family. My wife and I are very excited to get back to Stillwater and Oklahoma State."[2]