Terrell Williams is leaving his role as defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions to become defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Williams joins the rebuilding job in New England led by new Patriots coach Mike Vrabel after previously working with him at the Tennessee Titans.
Williams had only been in Detroit for the 2024 season after leaving Tennessee when Vrabel was abruptly fired the year before. Before that, Williams and Vrabel had been working together at the Titans for five years.
But it’s another significant loss for the Lions after Ben Johnson departed his role as offensive coordinator to become head coach of the Chicago Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn interviewed for the New York Jets on Tuesday.
Vrabel and Williams have a fascinating job ahead of them with the Patriots. They team ended the season with a miserable 4-13 record that cost Jerod Maye his job as head coach after only one season.
But with that low finish comes the fourth pick in the NFL Draft and with an extremely promising quarterback already in place in Drake Maye, Vrabel should be confident of a quick improvement when the new season comes around.
Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Terrell Williams is heading over to New England Patriots
The Lions were beaten 41-35 in the playoffs by the Washington Commanders on Saturday
On Saturday, the Lions’ season was abruptly ended after a surprise 45-31 loss at Ford Field to the Washington Commanders.
Head coach Dan Campbell appeared to fight back tears at the podium as he faced the media after the loss.
‘It just hurts to lose, man,’ he said. ‘I don’t care if you’re the seven seed, six seed, five seed, one seed… cause I’ve lost all of them, damn near.
‘It hurts,’ he continued. ‘At the end of the day, I didn’t have them ready.’
As he became more and more emotional, Campbell later added: ‘What [the players] put into it, a lot of people don’t know what they go through. You have to get up, your body’s beat to s***, mentally stay locked in and do those things. Long season.
‘It’s my fault. It’s my fault.’
But rather than lick his wounds, Campbell now need to start thinking about how he is going to rebuild his staff for 2025.
