Patriots to make Zak Kuhr the full-time defensive coordinator: Source

The New England Patriots aren’t making any changes to the defensive play-calling that helped get them to the Super Bowl.

After moving Terrell Williams, who began the 2025 season as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, to a new high-ranking role within the organization last week, the team plans to make Zak Kuhr the full-time defensive coordinator, a team source told The Athletic on Tuesday.

Kuhr, 37, had assumed play-calling duties early in the season from Williams, 51, who took a leave of absence from the team amid a fight with prostate cancer. Mike Vrabel announced that Williams was cancer-free last month. Meanwhile, Kuhr’s defense thrived and was a major reason the Patriots had so much success in the playoffs.

The moves for Williams and Kuhr help Vrabel keep intact some of the most trusted and impactful members of his staff. Williams has long been one of Vrabel’s top aides, dating back to their time with the Tennessee Titans in Vrabel’s first head-coaching gig. And Kuhr thrived in the elevated role even though he was once a college offensive coordinator, and even though 2025 was supposed to be his first year leading a position group in the NFL.

After all that success with Kuhr as defensive play caller, it would’ve been awkward for him to essentially take a demotion. But it would’ve also been awkward to ask Williams to go back to being a defensive line coach. So these moves allow Williams to continue to have an impactful say in decision-making while Kuhr continues to run the defense.

Kuhr was an offensive coordinator as recently as 2017 at Texas State. He joined Vrabel’s staff in Tennessee as a low-level assistant at the urging of John Streicher, Vrabel’s right-hand man, who was once roommates with Kuhr.

In the 2025 season, Kuhr was simply expected to coach inside linebackers for Vrabel. It already seemed like a big promotion for him, his first time leading an NFL position group. Instead, he ended up running a defense that propelled the Patriots to Super Bowl 60.

And now he’s about to become a full-time defensive coordinator in the NFL.