Lions have verbal agreement to hire new defensive line coach

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions are wasting little time this offseason making changes to the team's coaching staff. According to a team source familiar with the negotiations, the Lions have a verbal agreement to add longtime defensive line coach Terrell Williams. According to a report from "The Athletic," Williams will serve as both the team's defensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Williams has spent the past six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, but he has clear connections to the Lions. First and foremost, he previously worked with Dan Campbell in Miami, serving as the defensive line coach in 2015, the year Campbell was the team's interim head coach final 12 games.

The connections also extend to general manager Brad Holmes. Williams' second coaching job was at North Carolina A&T, where he coached Holmes during his playing days as a defensive tackle at the school. Williams made the jump to the NFL in 2012 with the Oakland Raiders, before moving to the Dolphins, then the Titans, where he was hired by former coach Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel promoted Williams to assistant head coach this past season and notably provided him the opportunity to work as the head coach during one of the team's preseason games. This week, Williams is serving as the head coach of the American team at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

At both the college and professional level, he's shown a knack for both managing veterans and developing young talent. At Purdue, he worked with future NFL standouts such as Ryan Kerrigan, Cliff Avril and Kawann Short. And during his three years in Miami, he had a front led by Pro Bowlers Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh. Most recently in Tennessee, he got Pro Bowl performances out of Jurrell Casey, Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry.

The Titans' run defense has particularly thrived under Williams' guidance. The team has held opponents to 4.0 yards per carry or under four of the past five seasons, including 3.8 yards per carry in 2023 and a league-best 3.4 yards per carry in 2022. The Lions are coming off a season where they made significant improvements in that area, allowing 3.7 yards per attempt.

Williams would be the Lions third defensive line coach in as many seasons. Todd Wash was in charge of the unit in 2021 and 2022 before departing, with permission, for the same job with the Carolina Panthers. The team replaced him with Penn State defensive line coach John Scott Jr. in 2023. His future with the team is unknown at this time.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers