The Patriots opened up their defensive coordinator role, per a source, moving Terrell Williams to a high-ranking position on staff.
Williams, now cancer-free, entered the 2025 season as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator until taking a leave of absence after being diagnosed with prostate cancer prior to Week 2.
Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr took over as interim defensive coordinator and play-caller and is considered a top candidate to take over the full-time role.
The 37-year-old Kuhr, who spent four seasons on Mike Vrabel’s Titans staff, led the Patriots’ defense to a top-10 finish in yards and points allowed. They finished the regular season 11th in expected points added and were even stronger in the postseason until losing to the Seahawks 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
“Going back to my time in Tennessee, he’s always going to be super prepared, super detailed,” Patriots linebacker Jack Gibbens said when Kuhr took over for Williams in September. “He cares about the guys a lot. Just wants to see us succeed. So I think that’s what he leads with, is he’s trying to help us be the best we can be. And so definitely appreciate that, and love playing for a guy like that.”
Another former defensive coordinator of Vrabel, Shane Bowen, is also currently available after being fired by the Giants in November.
Longtime defensive coordinator and former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz could also be in the running for the job. Schwartz spent the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Browns, who boasted a top-10 defense in yards allowed two times under Schwartz’s watch. Schwartz resigned from his post with the Browns last week after he was passed over for the vacant head-coaching job, which went to Todd Monken.
Schwartz, who got his start in the NFL with the Browns in 1993 when Bill Belichick was at the helm, has a history with Vrabel. He spent two seasons as a senior defensive assistant with the Titans under Vrabel.
Williams was able to assist the Patriots between cancer treatments and found a way to make an impact with his presence. He was declared cancer-free before the Super Bowl and traveled with the team to the Bay Area.
“I’m a perfectionist, so I try to be perfect in a lot of different things. But with him being around, I just think to myself that I’m extremely blessed,” Patriots defensive captain Harold Landry told the Herald in October. “And I don’t know, it’s just the attitude, everything that he is as a person, it just makes me go about my day in a much more positive light.”
Williams previously served as a defensive line coach with the Lions and Titans, where he served on Vrabel’s staff for six seasons.
Kuhr had never served as a position coach or defensive coordinator prior to the 2025 season, only switching over from offensive coaching in 2020.