On Monday, the Patriots made two notable changes to head coach Mike Vrabel’s coaching staff less than one week into the NFL’s new league year:
- Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr was promoted to defensive coordinator
- Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams will remain on Vrabel’s staff as assistant head coach
Zuhr receives this promotion after spending all but one week during the regular season as the team’s defensive playcaller, assuming those duties after Williams took time away from the team while receiving treatment for metastatic prostate cancer.
Under Kuhr, New England won 14 regular season games, most of which spent as the league’s best defense against the run. They entered the postseason as the AFC’s No. 2 seed, and were carried by their defensive unit all the way to Super Bowl 60. And despite being blown out on football’s biggest stage, it was Kuhr’s side of the football that was the lone bright spot for the Patriots at Levi’s Stadium.
At 37 years old, this promotion will mark the first time in Kuhr’s career he’s held this title, having spent the entirety of his career as an assistant coach for all three phases of the game across all three levels of football - high school, college and the pros. First teaming up with Vrabel as a coaching intern at Ohio State in 2011, he reunited with New England’s leading man down in Tennessee in 2020. Vrabel was entering his third season as head coach of the Titans, and Kuhr was hired as a quality control coach before being promoted to inside linebackers coach the following season.
Here’s the full coaching resume for New England Patriots defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr:
- Mandarin HS (FL), Assistant Coach
- Westside HS (FL), Offensive Coordinator
- Edward Waters (NCAA DII), Special teams coordinator (2009-10)
- Ohio State, Intern, (2011-12)
- James Madison, Running Backs Coach (2014)
- James Madison, Co-Offensive Coordinator (2015)
- Rutgers, Running Backs Coach (2016)
- Texas State, Co-Offensive Coordinator & Running Backs Coach (2017)
- Texas State, Associate Head Coach (2018)
- Texas, Assistant Coach (2019)
- Tennessee Titans, Defensive Quality Control Coach (2020)
- Tennessee Titans, Inside Linebackers Assistant (2021-23)
- New York Giants, Defensive Assistant (2024)
- New England Patriots, Inside Linebackers Coach/Defensive Playcaller (2025)
- New England Patriots, Defensive Coordinator (2026 - present)
In February, Vrabel told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine that Williams would remain on the staff in a role close to him. And while the responsibilities of an assistant head coach might not be as black and white as a coordinator role, it’s clear Williams’ influence on the 2025 season was impactful enough for Vrabel to make room on the payroll to keep the 51-year-old aboard.
With Williams moving over to AHC and Kuhr up to DC, there was some trickle down effect on the rest of the coaching staff. Here were the corresponding moves, along with other coaching hires:
- Vinny DePalma is being promoted from defensive assistant to inside linebackers coach
- DePalma’s old job is being filled by B.J. Edmonds, most recently a running backs coach at Southern Miss
- Charles London has been hired to be an offensive analyst. In 2023, he worked for Vrabel as the Titans quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator
- Jonathan DeCoster has been hired as an assistant offensive line coach to replace Robert Kugler, who left to become the Steelers’ tight ends coach earlier this offseason
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.