What promoting Zak Kuhr to defensive coordinator means for the Patriots
· Yahoo Sports
With Terrell Williams moving to a different role on their coaching staff in 2026, the New England Patriots were in need of a new defensive coordinator. It did not take long for them to find him: Zak Kuhr, who served as inside linebackers coach last season, was promoted to the DC role. In a follow-up move Vinny DePalma was promoted from coaching assistant to Kuhr’s former role.
Let’s take a big-picture look at the two moves and what they mean for the Patriots and their staff.
Visit fishroad-app.com for more information.
No surprise
Even before news broke that Williams would not return as defensive coordinator, Kuhr was considered a strong candidate to eventually end up replacing him in that role. That move has now become official, to no one’s surprise.
While there were some other seemingly strong candidates on the market, he was always the logical choice. Kuhr, after all, effectively took over Williams’ duties for most of 2025. He initially served as an on-the-ground replacement while the nominal DC was forced to work remotely in the offseason following a “health scare” and later took over as defensive play caller after Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Under his leadership, the Patriots played some of the best defensive football in the NFL and advanced all the way to the Super Bowl. Kuhr moving up the latter, especially considering the circumstances, always felt like the natural next step.
Locked up
The Patriots promoting Kuhr has the neat side effect of effectively tying him to the organization for the foreseeable future. Considering that lateral moves are rarely if ever happening in the NFL — teams have the ability to block them — this means that there are only two ways for Kuhr to exit Mike Vrabel’s staff: he either gets fired or he gets hired by another team at the pro or college level to serve as its next head coach.
The 37-year-old has quickly climbed up the ranks as one of the hottest names in coaching, and would likely have been in high demand as a coordinator next offseason had he remained a position coach. Now, there are basically only 31 jobs left in the NFL that are another step up for Kuhr.
Rooney Rule satisfied
The NFL’s Rooney Rule stipulates that teams have to interview at least two external minority or female candidates either in person or virtually for a coordinator opening. The Patriots having reportedly promoted Kuhr to their DC job suggests that those requirements have been met.
Who the team interviewed to satisfy the rule is not known right now. However, it would not be a surprise if some of the coaches brought in would eventually end up joining the staff in different roles when all is said and done. Coordinator interviews can serve more than just one purpose in that regard.
Stability
As noted above, Kuhr is not the only coach to get a promotion from the Patriots. Vinny DePalma will take over as Kuhr’s former role as inside linebackers coach, another move that was anticipated in the fallout of Terrell Williams changing roles.
Moving DePalma up the ranks also made plenty of sense for the team. Joining the Patriots in 2024 under head coach Mike Vrabel, the former Boston College linebacker has worked extensively with the position group ever since coming to Foxborough. And while officially listed as a defensive assistant throughout, he resumed a greater role with Kuhr taking over as play caller in 2025. His promotion therefore is another one focused on stability in that particular area.
Obviously, stability also is the name of the game when it comes to the Kuhr promotion. Had the Patriots gone with an outside hire, for example, there would have been some level of change be it in terms of scheme, verbiage or simply leadership style.
Kuhr, meanwhile, is the known commodity — one who was able to prove his abilities as a coach and coordinator under challenging circumstances in 2025.