The New England Patriots are opening up their defensive coordinator position ahead of the 2026 NFL season by moving Terrell Williams to a high-ranking role on Mike Vrabel’s staff, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
New England’s decision comes after Williams – who Vrabel brought aboard as his defensive coordinator upon being hired by the Patriots – missed all but one week of the 2025 season while battling prostate cancer.
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Williams was recently declared cancer-free, and Vrabel revealed during his end-of-season news conference that Williams had been cleared to return to coaching.
However, Vrabel did not commit to Williams re-taking his role of defensive coordinator for the 2026 NFL season.
“There’ll be a lot of things we have to work through there,” Vrabel told reporters.
Williams, 51, was in his first stint as an NFL defensive coordinator. Before the 2025 season, he spent the entirety of his 13-year NFL coaching career – which included a six-year stint on Vrabel’s staff with the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023 – as a defensive line coach.
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Williams added the title of assistant head coach with the Titans in 2023 and was the Detroit Lions‘ run game coordinator in 2024.
It isn’t yet clear what Williams’ title will be with the Patriots in 2026. Either way, moving him will clear the way for the Patriots to hire a new defensive coordinator. The early leading candidate for that role is Zak Kuhr, who acted as the team’s de facto defensive coordinator in Williams’ stead during the 2025 NFL season.
Kuhr has spent five of the last six seasons on Vrabel’s staffs with the Titans and Patriots. The 2025 season was the 37-year-old’s lone one as a defensive play-caller.
New England enjoyed great success under Kuhr’s leadership. The Patriots ranked fourth in points allowed, eighth in yards allowed and ninth in defensive EPA per play, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, during the regular season before allowing just 13.75 points per game across their run to Super Bowl 60.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patriots move Terrell Williams, open defensive coordinator job
