It didn’t take Mike Vrabel long to answer one of the New England Patriots’ biggest offseason question marks.
Vrabel wore a “T-Strong” patch on his vest during each game in honor of defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, who missed the bulk of the season due to a bout with prostate cancer. Williams was declared cancer-free in late January, in time to join the Patriots for their trip to Santa Clara and Super Bowl LX.
The elephant in the room? Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr stepped up in Williams absence in an interim role and served as the team’s defensive play caller from Week 2 of the regular season on. He also led the Patriots’ defensive team meetings and wound up being one of the more impressive assistants league-wide.
New England’s defense was lights-out in the playoffs, leading the NFL’s other qualifiers in points allowed (13.8 per game) and total sacks (13). Kuhr’s ability to mix things up and spin the dial with pressure fueled the Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl.
He might’ve earned himself an extended look. Per NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pellisero, the Patriots are moving Williams to a more “high-ranking role” within the organization and will soon begin searching for a new defensive coordinator.
The #Patriots are moving defensive coordinator Terrell Williams to a high-ranking role on the staff, per me & @TomPelissero, with Williams now cancer-free.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 12, 2026
They’ve opened up the DC position, with ILBs coach Zak Kuhr, who called plays during the Super Bowl run, a top candidate. pic.twitter.com/dNG9BLe6pK
It would appear that man is already in the building, but Vrabel could have other plans.
Patriots may be overthinking their most obvious defensive coordinator move
Sometimes it’s best not to overthink it. The locker room responded to Kuhr, and it makes all the sense in the world for the team to build on that success in 2026.
But Vrabel has his guys, and two of them — Shane Bowen and Jim Schwartz — are currently without a job.
Bowen’s the name that should frighten Patriots fans. He was Vrabel’s DC with the Tennessee Titans from 2021-23, and most recently flamed out in the same role with the New York Giants. He was fired midseason in 2025 by interim head coach Mike Kafka, after the Giants blew a series of big second-half leads. Per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Bowen’s defense ranked 30th in the NFL this past season, allowing 385 yards per game and 27.8 points.
Replacing an ascending Kuhr with a recently-fired Bowen would certainly constitute a shakeup, but that potential move is at least worth mentioning if the Patriots do indeed embark on an extensive search.
The Schwartz situation is complicated. There’s a clear Vrabel connection, as Schwartz served as a senior defensive assistant in Tennessee between his other coaching stops. They were back together in 2024, when Vrabel spent that season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns.
It’s worth noting that Schwartz wasn’t fired by the Browns along with Kevin Stefanski after the 2025 season, he submitted a letter of resignation after being passed over for Todd Monken as the Browns’ next head coach. Technically, he’s still under contract with Cleveland through 2026, with a team option in 2027, so Vrabel would have to go through owner Jimmy Haslam to bring Schwartz in for an interview.
Teams can’t trade for coordinators, per NFL rules, so Schwartz would first have to resolve his contract situation with the Browns before he could make a lateral move to Foxboro.
This one feels painfully obvious. The Patriots should definitely go through the process and weigh every option, but Kuhr should be the guy. It would be an odd look for the team to change Williams’ role just to replace the coach who earned a promotion.