The New England Patriots’ coaching staff for the 2026 season has been finalized, including some changes compared to last year.
The most prominent are the previously confirmed promotion of Zak Kuhr to defensive coordinator and the new role of former D.C. player Terrell Williams. The role now has a title: Williams will serve as assistant head coach under Mike Vrabel.
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“Terrell is going to be able to help me with a lot of things, help the team, help the defense, continue to be a big part of that,” Vrabel said at the Scout Combine in February. “And then seeing how Zach progresses and how comfortable we are out there, that’s where we end up. I think we have a great staff.”
New England’s full roster for Vrabel’s second season is as follows:
In addition to promoting Kuehl and moving Williams into a different role, the Patriots also moved Vinny DePalma from defensive assistant to inside linebackers coach. DePalma already has a similar role heading into the 2025 season after Kuhr took over game caller duties in light of Terrell Williams’ prostate cancer diagnosis in early September.
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In addition to the internal changes, the Patriots also welcomed three new assistant coaches. Jonathan Decoster will serve as offensive line assistant, BJ Edmonds will serve as defensive assistant and Charles London will serve as offensive analyst.
DeCoster brings more than 10 years of coaching experience to New England as he spent the past two years as an assistant O-line coach at Florida. He began his career at the college level and later served as an offensive quality control coach and offensive assistant with the Browns.
Edmonds, a former cornerback at Arkansas State, served as a defensive assistant at Kansas Wesleyan, Utah State and Duke before being hired as running backs coach at Southern Mississippi in January. Just a month later, however, he moved to New England, where he served as an intern in his final training camp.
London has worked for multiple organizations during his two-decade-plus coaching career, including the Titans under Mike Vrabel: He served as Tennessee’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator through the 2023 season. Between that job and the new one, he coached quarterbacks for the Seahawks and Jets.
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These three new contents are added on the basis of three deletions. Assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler, defensive assistant Milton Patterson and senior defensive assistant Ben McAdoo will not return to the team next season.
