Detroit Lions add DL coach Terrell Williams - Brad Holmes' ex-position coach - to staff
The Detroit Lions don't know if they'll need a new defensive coordinator next season or not, but they will have a new defensive line coach.
The Lions are hiring former Tennessee Titans defensive line coach and assistant head coach Terrell Williams to their staff. The Athletic reported Williams will coach defensive line and serve as the team's defensive run game coordinator.
Williams spent the last six seasons with the Titans and previously coached defensive line for the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins, where he spent one season working with Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
He also coached in college at Campbell's alma matter, Texas A&M, and at North Carolina A&T, where he coached Lions general manager Brad Holmes.
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The Lions finished second in the NFL in rush defense last season (88.8 ypg) but struggled at times to generate pressure with their four-man pass rush. Aidan Hutchinson had a career-high 11.5 sacks, but five of those sacks came in the final two games of the regular season and no other Lions defender had more than five sacks this year.
Williams, who is currently serving as head coach of the American Team at the Senior Bowl college all-star game, played nose tackle at East Carolina and has coached defensive line in college and the NFL for nearly 30 years.
The Titans had two players with double-digit sacks this season, Harold Landry (10.5) and Denico Autry (11.5), and Williams oversaw the development of Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons, a two-time second-team All-Pro selection.
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is one of three reported finalists for the vacant Washington Commanders job, along with Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Baltimore Ravens defensive run game coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Glenn interviewed with the Commanders in person Tuesday. He had a virtual interview with the team in mid-January.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions add veteran DL coach Terrell Williams to staff
