Fresh off an AFC title and a Super Bowl berth, the Patriots have hired their defensive guy to little surprise.
New England officially hired linebackers coach Zak Kuhr on Tuesday as its defensive coordinator after he served as the defensive play-caller while Terrell Williams was away from the team for nearly the entire season after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
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According to multiple reports, Williams is shifting to a high-ranking role on Mike Vrabel’s staff, though it’s unclear what that will look like.
Williams is cancer-free after receiving treatment over the past year.
Kuhr was the clear choice after he stepped up in a big way throughout last season.
The Patriots’ defense vastly improved, allowing 4.9 yards per play, the seventh-best figure in the NFL, a year after letting up 5.5 yards per play in 2024, 20th in the league.
“The one thing I wanted to do … in this role of working with every [player] was earn their trust,” Kuhr told The Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “I wanted to let them know all I care about is their success. Anything I had to do to prove that, whether it was work ethic or conversations with those guys, that was the most important thing.”
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Williams was hired in January 2025, after having worked on Vrabel’s staff as the Titans defensive line coach, though he had a “health scare” in the spring that kept him away from the team early in his tenure in New England.
Williams made it back for training camp and served as the first defensive coordinator for the first week of the NFL season before leaving again after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The Patriots promoted Zak Kuhr to defensive coordinator. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Kuhr served on the Titans’ staff with Vrabel in 2020 as a defensive quality control coach, then moved to inside linebackers coach from 2021 to 2023.
Kuhr moved to the Giants staff after Vrabel was fired in Tennessee, before re-joining him in New England this past season.
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“He really can adjust quickly, and he has an ability to not get hung up,” Vrabel said. “We sub and we make different calls, and I’m always trying to watch and make sure that we’re coordinated in what we’re doing. He’s done that. He’s a good teacher, good communicator.”
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