The New England Patriots continued their reunion with Josh McDaniels and took over the defensive coordinator position on Wednesday.
New England has welcomed Terrell Williams on board to join head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff and fill the team’s third primary vacancy this offseason. Williams, now the former defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, has been identified as the favorite to land in Foxborough and reunite with Vrabel – Williams spent six seasons on Vrabel’s staff with the Tennessee Titans, initially as coach of the defensive line.
When asked how Williams preferred the playing style of those in his locker room, the 50-year-old left a bold, one-word description while still in Detroit.
“Violent,” Williams told reporters after being hired by the Lions in May, by Benjamin Raven of MLive. “That’s it. That’s it. I’m not going to give you a dissertation on, ‘Hey, we have to do this…’ You have to play with violence and with effort. The violent element is a big part of playing this position you want guys who accept that you have to accept that that’s exactly what this position is. It’s a violent position, with a lot of collisions, and you have to play. with effort, and if you don’t succeed, you will have to hard to play. I haven’t seen many top starters who aren’t violent players. It just doesn’t work, it doesn’t fit together.
Williams has accumulated over 25 years of coaching experience with various stops across the league for teams such as the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Titans and Lions. Most recently in Detroit, Williams contributed as the team’s ground game coordinator as the Lions allowed the fifth-fewest rushing yards (98.4) in the regular season.
Story continues below advertisement
Detroit finished atop the NFC North with a dominant 15-2 run, but the promising campaign fell apart in the Lions’ 45-21 loss to the Washington Commanders in their divisional game last Saturday.
New England, on the other hand, ceded the 10th most rushing yards (131.4) amid its 4-13 record, bottom of the AFC East last season under former defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
Vrabel has spoken highly of Williams before and so far the Patriots have reaped the benefits of Vrabel’s league-wide connections accumulated during his six coaching seasons that brought him back to New York. England.
“The respect I have for him, the way he goes about his business, the way he treats people, the way he treats coaches and players, he understands that completely,” Vrabel told Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic in November. “He got along well and had relationships with offensive coaches, special teams coaches and defensive coaches. He knows what he believes. He’s a great football coach, a great husband, a great father.
Story continues below advertisement
Williams joined McDaniels and special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer as part of three coaching additions announced by the Patriots on Wednesday.
