Terrell Williams to hold new role on Patriots coaching staff in 2026

With his battle against prostate cancer won, Terrell Williams will return to the New England Patriots’ coaching staff in 2026. However, he will not do so as defensive coordinator.

According to a report

by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the Patriots will be moving Williams to a “high-ranking role” within their staff.

Williams, 51, arrived in New England last season alongside head coach Mike Vrabel. However, he had to spend a majority of the spring working remotely from his Detroit home following what he referred to as a “health scare.” He returned for training camp and served as defensive coordinator and play-caller in Week 1 of the regular season, but shortly thereafter left the team for unrelated medical reasons.

In late September, Vrabel announced that Williams would be away from the team indefinitely because of his cancer diagnosis. In his place, inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr stepped up.

Kuhr, who also joined the Patriots during the 2025 offseason, already filled in for Williams in the spring and later took on play-caller duties during the regular season. With him at the helm, New England finished the season ranked fourth in points allowed and advanced all the way to the Super Bowl.

Williams was diagnosed as cancer-free in early February, clearing the way for him to resume his old role. That will not happen, with the door now wide open for Kuhr to officially get promoted to defensive coordinator for the upcoming season.

“There’ll be a lot of things that we’ll have to work through there,” Mike Vrabel said earlier this week. “T’s healthy and been given a release to be back and be back at work. So, I’ll work through all those things here in the next couple days, weeks, however long those decisions may take.”