Pats Pulpit
Terrell Williams is not yet ready to resume his role as New England Patriots defensive coordinator.
After already missing last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins, the 51-year-old will also not be available for the upcoming contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As the Patriots confirmed on Friday, inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr will be serving as defensive play caller for a second straight week.
Williams, who had missed time during the offseason after experiencing an “eye-opening” health scare in March, took a leave of absence last week to deal with an unrelated medical situation. He was back at the facility this week, but the Patriots have opted to keep the status quo established during his absence in place.
“Terrell’s around, I just want to try to get some continuity, and with the situation probably being fluid, we’ll stick to the same plan that we had last week,” explained head coach Mike Vrabel on Wednesday. “He’ll just be more involved. I just want to make sure that we’re not in and out and in and out. That’s all.”
A longtime assistant under Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans, Williams reunited with his former head coach in New England earlier this year. A first-time coordinator, he was with the club all training camp — except for a brief episode of dehydration — and led his defense into the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Patriots lost that game 20-13, giving up a league-high nine big plays along the way.
The following week under stand-in DC Zak Kuhr, the Patriots celebrated a 33-27 win. Big plays were less of a problem, but several issues remained, including uneven play at Kuhr’s linebacker position.
The Patriots’ game against the visiting Steelers will be kicked off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 19. Outside of Williams, the team did not rule anybody out for the Week 3 contest.
