The New England Patriots had an excellent season, and although it ended without a Super Bowl, this was the second year of a rebuild. Realistically, the Patriots should not have had this much success, but with major coaching/roster upgrades and QB Drake Maye playing at an MVP level, the team was able to take that next step quickly.
One of the areas where the Patriots improved heavily was on defense, and a main reason for that was the coaching.
HC Mike Vrabel Gives Some Insight on Who Will Be the New England Patriots’ DC Next Season
When Mike Vrabel was hired as HC, he named longtime defensive line coach Terrell Williams as the next DC. Williams already coached under Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans, so there was great familiarity there.
Sadly, before the season started, Williams would step away from the team, for health concerns, and it was revealed that he had prostate cancer and was getting treatment.
Williams stayed around the Patriots whenever the team did not travel, but in his absence, Vrabel named inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr as the defensive playcaller. As I mentioned, the Patriots’ defense was great this season, and the playcalling has been a major reason.
Now that the offseason has started and Williams is medically cleared, the Patriots will have to decide who will be the DC next season. When speaking to the media, per Patriots reporter Mark Daniels, Vrabel spoke on this and gave some insight on the decision process:
“I’ll work through all those things here in the next couple of weeks, days, however long those decisions take.”
Mike Vrabel says that Terrell Williams has been medically cleared to return.
Will Zak Kuhr remain the Patriots defensive coordinator?
“I’ll work through all those things here in the next couple of weeks, days, however long those decisions take.”
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) February 10, 2026
Per the PFSN NFL Defensive Impact Metric, New England was ranked 12th overall. In the Super Bowl, they also had an excellent performance, but the offense let them down.
For Vrable, this is going to be a very difficult decision. Williams is a leader and has been present with the team even as he fights through what he is dealing with, but Kuhr had a really great season as a first-time DC and helped lead the team to the Super Bowl. Vrabel should take as much time as possible to pick next season’s DC.
