Patriots DC Terrell Williams Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer

“We want to send our regards and let everybody know publicly that’s what he’s dealing with,” Vrabel said. 

Williams had a medical scare back in August when he left practice early. Doug Kyed reported at the time that Williams left due to dehydration, and his departure was precautionary, so it’s unclear if the incident from training camp had any relation to the recent diagnosis. 

Williams, 51, began his coaching career at Fort Scott CC in 1998 as a DL coach. He had a number of stops at different colleges before taking his first NFL coaching job with the Raiders as their DL coach in 2012.

From there, Williams spent three years as the Dolphins DL coach before the Titans hired him in the same role for the 2018 season. He was hired by the Patriots to be the DC under Mike Vrabel ahead of the 2025 season. 

After four years, Williams was promoted to assistant head coach/defensive line coach and spent one season in the role before joining the Lions as their DL coach in 2024.