New Lions assistant Terrell Williams 'the best D-line coach' in the NFL, scars and all
INDIANAPOLIS — Dan Campbell called Terrell Williams “the best D-line coach in the” NFL, and it’s a reputation the newest Detroit Lions assistant has earned as much for the bonds built with players as for the way he teaches pass rush.
Williams has a legion of high-profile defensive linemen who swear by his name, from Ndamukong Suh to Jeffery Simmons, and the connections he has made with those players form the foundation of his coaching.
“I think in order for someone to know you, they got to know your scars, like what you’ve been through in life,” Williams told a small group of reporters at the NFL combine this week. “Take away football, and then I think they can understand you and respect you.”
For Williams, the most painful scar remains one he suffered 12 years ago during his first season as an NFL assistant with the Oakland Raiders, when his 4-year-old son, Tyson, died suddenly after a brief illness.
Williams said he talks openly about that tragedy with players as a way to illustrate the resilience and brotherhood needed to succeed in football and life.
“There’s so many other things but that’s one of the things that I like to get into and explain to them that you’re able to bounce back from some of those situations,” Williams said. “Cause again it’s, they see you as a football coach and I’m talking this environment is completely different than a meeting room environment or a practice field environment, but I think that if they know you on a personal level, know who you are, what you’ve been through, your family, your background, then it’s easier to connect with those guys. Cause now they’re more comfortable sharing things with you. It’s a tough business, but I think there’s a human element to it also.”
Asked how he managed to navigate the tragedy, Williams said, “I mean, because you have to.”
“You just, you can’t stop living,” he said. “And I think that that’s a lesson that sometimes things happen in life and you can’t, you just can’t control it. We couldn’t control it. We got the best doctors in the Bay area, you got the best everything but then sometimes things just happen. And through counseling and friendships and all of those things, you’re able to deal with it up until it’s where it becomes manageable for you. Because that’s not something that goes away. It’s not — we’re still dealing with it, so that’s just life. Bad things happen to good people and you got to find a way to fight through it. That’s what makes us who we are.”
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Williams spent three seasons with the Raiders and three more as defensive line coach with the Miami Dolphins, before spending the past six years with the Tennessee Titans.
He said the friendship he built with Campbell during their one season together with the Dolphins in 2015 was a big reason he signed on as Lions defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator.
“Dan and I have talked for years about having opportunity to work together,” Williams said. “When this opportunity came, it was an easy decision for me and I’m thankful to the Tennessee Titans for allowing me to get out of my contract.”
Along with Campbell, Williams has a previous relationship with Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who he coached in college at North Carolina A&T. He said his wife has family in Michigan. And he said the state’s youth hockey program was “a huge, huge part of me coming here to Detroit.”
Williams’ 12-year-old son, Tahj, recently joined Compuware.
“The hockey part is bigger than you think,” Williams said.
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As for what he wants the Lions’ defensive line to be under his watch, Williams, who oversaw one of the NFL’s best run defenses the past three seasons in Tennessee, said he’s looking for physical, violent players who play with effort.
“I haven’t seen very many high-level starters that aren’t violent players,” Williams said. “That just doesn’t work, it doesn’t go hand in hand. And I’ve coached some of the most violent on-the-field players, had Simmons, had Suh in Miami, had Richard Seymour in Oakland and even some of the undersized, like Cam Wake in Miami who was 260, (2)50 pounds, he’s one of the most violent football players. People look at him as a pass rusher, but he rushed violently.
“So I don’t know any other way to explain it other than we’re looking for violent players. That’s just what it has to be.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions' Terrell Williams 'best D-line coach' in the NFL, scars and all
