A little more than two years after Williams' death, those same agents are scrambling to aid loved ones of another client.

Momentum Football LLC co-president Jack Scharf spent Monday talking with the family of Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, one of three men who remain missing after Cooper's 21-foot vessel overturned Saturday night in rough seas near Clearwater, Fla.

"We're all praying we'll get positive news about Marquis," Scharf said. "We're praying they'll all be returned safely."

Scharf has represented Cooper, 26, ever since the Washington alumnus and Mesa, Ariz., native entered the NFL in 2004. Momentum Football's other president, Jeff Griffin, represented Williams, who was killed New Year's Day 2007 when his white stretch Hummer was sprayed by bullets in Denver.

Agency spokesman Troy David Asmus said news of Cooper's disappearance sparked painful memories for him, Scharf and Griffin.

"I never knew getting into this line of work that my job description would include something like this," Asmus said. "The worst part is not knowing. With Darrent, we knew it was definite. We knew. We got the call from his mom, and I'll never forget her first words, 'Troy, they shot him. He's dead.' That's how I woke up at 3 in the morning on New Year's Day 2007."

The agency got a boost Monday when the Coast Guard announced one of the men with Cooper, former South Florida Football player Nick Schuyler, was found clinging to the overturned boat off Florida's Gulf Coast. But authorities said Cooper, Detroit Lions free agent defensive end Corey Smith and former South Florida Football player William Bleakley remain missing.

Schuyler told rescuers the others got separated from the boat.

The Coast Guard had been searching for the four men since they were reported missing early Sunday, one day after they left on a fishing trip.

"It absolutely gives us a lot of hope," Scharf said of Schuyler's rescue.

Cooper's wife, Rebekah, and 3-year-old daughter, Delaney, are in Tampa, Fla., awaiting the arrival of Cooper's parents and younger sister. Cooper's father is Bruce Cooper, a Phoenix sportscaster who recently provided a report from the Super Bowl for WOAI-TV.

"Bruce is one of the good guys in our business, always smiling, always willing to help us when we go to Phoenix," WOAI sports director Don Harris said. "We were all just sick to our stomachs when I read the story Sunday about the missing NFL players and said, 'Oh, no. That's Coop's son.'"

Scharf said he's preparing to fly to Tampa on Wednesday.

"I'm blessed I have not had to deal with these situations often," Scharf said. "My firm has unfortunately been a part of some sorrow with Darrent. That was difficult. In this job, you're blessed now and then to be surrounded by good kids and great families, which the Coopers are. You want to talk about a young man that is loyal, that is passionate, that is honest. That's Marquis."

Scharf said Cooper is an avid fisherman who takes safety at sea seriously.

"That was a place for Coop to go to find peace of mind," Scharf said. "It was a tranquil environment where he could go to learn about himself."

Scharf said he has talked to many of Cooper's friends, including Dallas Cowboys free agent nose tackle Tank Johnson, who played with Cooper at Washington and has known him since they were children in Arizona.