Attrition has hit the Detroit Lions coaching staff hard. Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson are both expected to move on this offseason, and now another coach is expected to flee the team.
The New England Patriots are expected to hire Terrell Williams as the team’s newest defensive coordinator. New head coach Mike Vrabel will reunite with Williams, who he had on staff in Tennessee throughout his entire tenure.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news on Williams’ hire.
“Lions defensive line coach Terrell Williams, who worked with Mike Vrabel in Tennessee from 2018-2023, is leaving Detroit to become the Patriots defensive coordinator,” Schefter posted on X.
Williams served as high as assistant head coach under Vrabel in Nashville, doing so in his final season. But defensive coordinator is certainly the 50-year-old LA native’s most premier coaching position yet. He worked as a defensive line coach for his entire coaching life dating back to 1998.
Williams has coached at virtually every football level, working at Fort Scott, North Carolina A&T, Youngstown State, Akron, Purdue, and Texas A&M in the college circles. In the NFL, he’s coached in Oakland, Miami, Tennessee, and of course Detroit.
This will be his biggest shot yet, so we’ll see how it pans out. The Patriots are a clear rebuilding effort, so hopefully he’s given time to work.
Detroit will continue to likely feel attrition on their coaching staff. Such is life in the NFL.
