Terrell Williams is in his sixth season with the Titans and his first year as assistant head coach-defense/defensive line. It is his 26th season in coaching and his 12th campaign in the NFL. He arrived in Tennessee in 2018 as defensive line coach.
In 2022, he helped the Titans finish first in the NFL in rushing defense, as the unit allowed only 76.9 opponent rushing yards per game, which was the second-lowest number in franchise history. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was named to his second Pro Bowl after posting 7.5 sacks, while nose tackle Teair Tart recorded a career-high 16 starts. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker established career highs in several categories, including 32 tackles and seven sacks.
In 2021, Simmons continued to emerge as one of the NFL's top young defensive talents and was named to his first career Pro Bowl after setting career highs in several categories, including sacks (8.5), tackles (54), quarterback pressures (58), tackles for loss (12) and passes defensed (six). Simmons, who also earned second-team Associated Press All-Pro honors, established a franchise single-game postseason record with three sacks in the divisional playoff contest against Cincinnati.
In 2020, Simmons ranked second on the team with 19 quarterback pressures and became the first player in the franchise's "Titans era" (since 1999) to post at least three fumble recoveries, three sacks and five passes defensed in the same season.
In 2019, Williams helped acclimate Simmons to the NFL as a first-round pick, while veteran Jurrell Casey earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl berth after posting five sacks and a team-high 30 quarterback pressures. The Titans rebounded from a 2-4 start to make the franchise's first AFC Championship Game in 17 years.
In Williams' first season with the Titans, Casey was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the defense with seven sacks. The Titans defense ranked eighth overall (333.4 yards per game), third in points allowed (18.9 per game), 10th on third down (36.6 percent) and second in the red zone (44.7 touchdown percentage).
Prior to his arrival in Tennessee, Williams' most recent stop was three years (2015-17) with the Miami Dolphins coaching the defensive line. During Williams' three seasons with the Dolphins, defensive end Cameron Wake tallied 29 sacks, which was the eighth-highest total by a player in that period, while Ndamukong Suh totaled the eighth-highest number of sacks (15.5) among defensive tackles. Wake's nine forced fumbles tied for fifth in the NFL over the same span.
In 2016, Williams helped the Dolphins to their most successful season in eight years, winning 10 games and earning their first playoff berth since 2008. Both Suh and Wake earned Pro Bowl selections. Wake returned from an Achilles injury at 34 years old and had one of the most dominant seasons of his eight-year NFL career, finishing third in the AFC and tied for sixth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks. Miami won nine of its final 11 games, and in those 11 contests, Wake was second in the NFL with 10.5 sacks. Suh posted five sacks, and his 72 total tackles set a career high and ranked third among all interior defensive linemen in the league.
In 2015, Williams' first season with Miami, he helped the Dolphins defensive line become one of just four NFL teams to have three players with at least six sacks – seven by Wake, six by Suh and 7.5 by defensive end Olivier Vernon. Wake posted four sacks in a win at Tennessee (10/18), tied for the fifth-most sacks in a single game in club history. Vernon finished the 2015 campaign with 36 quarterback hits, the third-most in the NFL, and tied for fourth among all players with 18 tackles for loss. Among all defensive tackles, Suh was second with 11.5 tackles for loss. He also was tied for fourth among players at his position with 20 quarterback hits.
Williams spent three seasons as the defensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders (2012-14). In 2014, Williams' unit helped the defense rank eighth in the NFL in fewest rushing yards allowed per play (3.97) and finished second in the NFL in stuffs (tackles recorded at or behind the line of scrimmage) with 54.
Prior to joining the Raiders, Williams spent two seasons (2010-11) as defensive line coach at Texas A&M. During his tenure, the Aggies advanced to a pair of bowl games, including a win over Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas in 2011. The Aggies led the nation with 51 sacks in 2011 and finished third nationally with an average of eight tackles for loss per game. In 2010, Williams helped lead the Aggies to a share of the program's first Big 12 South crown in more than a decade and a berth in the Cotton Bowl.
From 2006 through 2009, Williams was the defensive line coach at Purdue. During his time with the Boilermakers, he coached the entire line each year with the exception of 2008, when he focused solely on the defensive end position. Williams tutored future NFL lineman Anthony Spencer, who led the NCAA in tackles for loss and was a first team All-American before becoming a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys. He also coached future NFL players Cliff Avril, Alex McGee, Mike Neal, Ryan Kerrigan, Kawann Short and Ryan Baker.
Williams coached the defensive line at Akron from 2004 through 2005. During that period, the Zips won the Mid-American Conference Championship Game (2005) and played in the Motor City Bowl, both marking firsts in program history. Williams spent two years (2002-03) as the defensive line coach at Youngstown State and served on the coaching staff at North Carolina A&T from 1999-2001. He got his start in coaching working with the defensive line at Fort Scott Community College during the 1998 season.
Williams had three summer internships in the NFL during his college coaching tenure. During the summer of 1999, he assisted the Jacksonville Jaguars with the defensive line, and he had a similar role with the Seattle Seahawks in 2007 and with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.
A native of Los Angeles, Williams played nose guard at East Carolina and helped the Pirates to a Liberty Bowl victory over Stanford in 1995. He transferred to East Carolina from West Los Angeles College and earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in history.
He and his wife, Tifini, have two sons: Tahj and Tyson, who passed away in 2012.
Terrell Williams' Coaching Timeline:
2023: Assistant Head Coach-Defense/Defensive Line, Tennessee Titans
2018-22: Defensive Line, Tennessee Titans
2015-17: Defensive Line, Miami Dolphins
2012-14: Defensive Line, Oakland Raiders
2010-11: Defensive Line, Texas A&M
2006-09: Defensive Line, Purdue
2004-05: Defensive Line, Akron
2002-03: Defensive Line, Youngstown State
1999-2001: Defensive Line, North Carolina A&T
1998: Defensive Line, Fort Scott CC
