The New England Patriots have a vacancy at defensive coordinator after moving Terrell Williams — who is cancer-free after a battle with prostate cancer — to a high-ranking role on the staff, NFL Network reported on Thursday afternoon.
Williams, 51, missed most of his first season with New England after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in September. He took a leave of absence after being on the sideline for the Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
He attended meetings at New England’s facility during his recovery period but didn’t travel with the team this season. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr filled in as New England’s defensive play-caller.
Williams was declared cancer-free during the playoffs and joined the Patriots in Santa Clara, Calif., last week for Super Bowl LX, which the Seattle Seahawks won 29-13.
The Patriots ranked fourth in the regular season in average points allowed (18.8) and eighth in fewest yard allowed per game (295.2).
Head coach Mike Vrabel, the NFL Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm for the Patriots years after playing for New England, was asked on Tuesday if Kuhr would be the defensive coordinator.
“(Williams is) healthy and been given a release to be back and be back at work,” Vrabel said, via team transcript. “So again, I’ll work through all those things here in the next couple days, weeks, however long those decisions may take.”
When Vrabel was head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018-23, Williams was his defensive line coach. He added assistant head coach to his title in 2023.
Williams spent the 2024 season as the defensive line coach and run game coordinator with the Detroit Lions.
He coached the defensive line for the Miami Dolphins (2015-17) and then-Oakland Raiders (2012-14) after stints as an assistant at Texas A&M, Purdue, Akron and other schools.
Kuhr, 37, was a New York Giants defensive assistant in 2024. Kuhr also spent time with Vrabel in various positions with the Titans from 2020-23 following multiple stops as an assistant coach at the college level.
