At least in terms of their coaching background, there is some carryover from the previous New England Patriots defensive coordinator to the new one. Just like his predecessor, DeMarcus Covington, Terrell Williams also made the move up after serving as a defensive line coach.
For the 50-year-old, that is all he has ever known: he was a D-lineman back during his playing days and has exclusively coached the position group over the first 24 yers of his career; recently, he added other responsibilities but still kept working with his respective teams’ defensive lines. Now re-joining his former head coach Mike Vrabel in New England, Williams’ role has significantly changed.
Let’s take a closer look at him to find out what that change might mean for him and the Patriots, and why they see him as worthy of being named their next defensive coordinator in the first place.
Terrell Williams profile
Name: Terrell Williams
Opening day age: 51 (6/19/1974)
Last position: Detroit Lions defensive line coach/run game coordinator
Coaching stops: Fort Scott (1998), North Carolina A&T (1999-2001), Youngstown State (2002-03), Akron (2004-05), Purdue (2006-09), Texas A&M (2010-11), Oakland Raiders (2012-14), Miami Dolphins (2015-17), Tennessee Titans (2018-23), Detroit Lions (2024)
What is Terrell Williams’ experience?
Playing experience: A defensive lineman during his playing days, Williams’ coaching career began at West Los Angeles College in his California hometown. He later transferred to East Carolina, where he helped the Pirates beat Stanford in the 1995 Liberty Bowl.
Coaching experience: Williams’ career as a defensive line coach began in 1998 at Fort Scott. The following year, he took his talents to North Carolina A&T, where he spent the next three seasons coaching the D-line under head coach Bill Hayes. He also interned with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999, working with the defensive line under head coach Tom Coughlin and defensive coordinator Dom Capers.
Williams moved on to Youngstown State in 2002, where he worked under head coach Jon Heacock for two years. In 2004, he joined the staff of new Akron HC J.D. Brookhart and his defensive coordinator, Jim Fleming.
Another two years later, he made the move to Purdue to work alongside head coaches Joe Tiller and Danny Hope. Future Pro Bowlers Cliff Avril and Ryan Kerrigan were among the players he coached during his tenure with the Boilermakers.
During his time at Purdue, Williams also added two more NFL internships to his résumé. He spent time with the Seattle Seahawks in 2007 and with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.
In 2010, he changed schools again to join Texas A&M. After his two-year tenure as Aggies D-line coach under head coach Mike Sherman and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, Williams made the move to the NFL for the first time in his career: in 2012, the Raiders hired him to work with their defensive line — a group including former Patriots Andre Carter and Tommy Kelly at the time.
After spending three years under HC Dennis Allen and DC Jason Tarver, Williams was not retained by incoming Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio. Instead, he decided to join the University of Florida but eventually changed his mind when he received an offer from Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin.
Philbin lasted only half a year after adding Williams to his staff, but the veteran coach managed to stick around for two more seasons after his firing — going from Philbin and interim head coach Dan Campbell to Adam Gase, as well as from coordinators Kevin Coyle and Lou Anarumo to Vance Joseph and Matt Burke (he also was joined by the now-retired Carter as an assistant).
Under his tutelage, both Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake made the Pro Bowl and received All-Pro recognition. Despite his success, the Dolphins decided not to retain Williams for the 2018 season, allowing him to team up with Mike Vrabel in Tennessee.
Over the next six years — i.e. Vrabel’s entire tenure as Titans head coach — he worked as the club’s defensive line coach and, in 2023, as assistant head coach.. Along the way, he worked with coordinators Dean Pees and Shane Bowen and coached players such as Pro Bowl defensive tackles Jeffery Simmons and Jurrell Casey.
After Vrabel was fired in 2024, Williams re-joined former Dolphins colleague Dan Campbell as the Lions’ D-line coach. He also was named run game coordinator under DC Aaron Glenn. One year later, he moved again, this time reuniting with Mike Vrabel in New England.
What is the Patriots’ perspective on Terrell Williams?
In order to get a better look at Williams and what he might bring to the Patriots as their next defensive coordinator, we once again touched base with Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit. Here is our brief Q&A about the Patriots’ new DC.
What makes Williams worthy of being an NFL defensive coordinator?
While I’m not sure Terrell Williams would be a defensive coordinator anywhere else, he is certainly uniquely qualified to be Mike Vrabel’s defensive coordinator given their extensive history together. He knows the defense Vrabel will want front to back, and with one of the key staples to a Vrabel defense being their strong run defense, Williams’ expertise in defensive line play will be a big asset.
Beyond that, I think Williams is a very strong leader who commands respect from his players. Having a good culture fit in a key position like that will allow Vrabel to take a more hands-off approach. Every player I’ve talked to about Williams has a ton of respect for the veteran coach, and rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo was distraught when it was clear Williams was leaving.
How would you assess the job Williams has done with the Lions?
It’s hard to evaluate the impact of Williams’ one year in Detroit because of the massive amount of injuries along the defensive line. Detroit lost: Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, John Cominsky, Kyle Peko, Mekhi Wingo, Derrick Barnes, and Alim McNeill by the end of the season. Those are all players who were expected to have a role this season, some of them massive roles.
Still, what we did see was Hutchinson on a Defensive Player of the Year trajectory prior to his injury, McNeill have a career season, Levi Onwuzurike resurrect his career and a bunch of injury replacements provide some adequate play. While the defense was a mess by the time the season ended, Detroit still ranked fifth in rushing yards allowed and fourth in pressure percentage (per Pro Football Reference).
What type of defense would you expect him to run in New England?
I have to imagine it’ll be nearly identical to what Vrabel ran in Tennessee, which focuses on stopping the run on early downs, and being aggressive and creative when it comes to the team’s pass rush. While it’s typically a 3-4 base, Vrabel’s fronts can be multiple based on his personnel, so I wouldn’t get too fixated on that.
