Patriots Coach Suffers Major Health Scare During Monday’s Practice

Former Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, and Detroit Lions assistant Terrell Williams is in his first season as the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, and his first training camp with the team will likely be one he remembers for a while.

Williams, who spent last season as the defensive line coach/run game coordinator for the NFC’s top-seeded Lions, was all over social media after he suffered a pretty significant medical scare during practice on Monday.

The 51-year-old assistant coach collapsed during practice and was carted off the field on a stretcher, according to multiple reports.

The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed reported that Williams was treated for dehydration and his prognosis was positive, though the team was taking extra precautions with him after the incident.

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With Williams being tended to in the facility, linebackers coach Zak Kuhr took over defensive play-calling duties in his absence.

It’s the second health scare Williams has dealt with during the offseason after taking time off back in May during offseason workouts for an undisclosed medical reason. Though he absent from the team facility, he still communicated with the team remotely from his home in Michigan.

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Williams served as the defensive line coach under current Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel when he held the same position with the Titans from 2018 to 2022. He was promoted to assistant head coach/defensive line coach in 2023 — Vrabel’s last as head coach before being fired and replaced by former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.

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Williams got into coaching early on during his days in college. He spent one season Fort Scott before moving onto North Carolina A&T for three seasons. He interned with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999 while still in school

He also took two other NFL internships while he was the defensive line coach at Purdue — one with the Seattle Seahawks in 2007 and another with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.