Zak Kuhr has thrived leading Patriots defense after stepping in for an ill Terrell Williams
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Zak Kuhr didn’t have any lofty expectations when he joined Mike Vrabel’s coaching staff as an inside linebackers coach prior to this season.
A former defensive assistant under Vrabel during his tenure as Tennessee Titans coach, more than anything Kuhr felt he was just getting another chance to coach alongside someone whom he believed had a plan that could rebuild the New England Patriots.
But when defensive coordinator Terrell Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer before the start of the season, Kuhr also found out how much trust his head coach had in him when he was named de facto coordinator while Williams concentrated on treatment.
“It meant a lot and, obviously, I know T had say in that as well with him,” Kuhr said. “That means the world. One thing that drives me most is one, doubters, and two, people that believe in me. I’ll go to the edge of the Earth.”
Kuhr has proven up to the task, bringing some different wrinkles to a defense that has allowed just two touchdowns this postseason as the Patriots prepare for their Super Bowl matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
“Zak has been fantastic,” Vrabel said. “I think that, much like players when given opportunities, coaches sometimes have the same thing. When they get more opportunity, they take advantage of it and then turn that into something else.”
What Kuhr has presided over is a unit that didn’t allow a 100-yard rusher through its first nine games of the season.
By the end of the regular season the Patriots ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in total defense (eighth, 295.2 yards per game), rushing defense (fifth, 101.7 yards per game), passing defense (ninth, 193.5 yards per game) and points allowed per game (fourth, 18.8 points per game).
Williams, who traveled to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl after being declared cancer-free, said he knew Kuhr would thrive.
“Sometimes, when you coach in this league, you’ve got coaches who are pulling in different directions,” Williams said. “Everybody has a motive. The only motive for us was to improve. Not to win, but to improve. We figured that the improvement would come. But Zak has done an unbelievable job. I’m proud of him, and I’m looking forward to him calling this game on Sunday.”
Kuhr’s first job in the NFL came in 2020 when he was hired as a quality coach by Vrabel, then the Titans coach. Also there was Williams, who was brought in by Vrabel in his first season in Tennessee in 2018 to coach the defensive line.
The trio’s relationship grew after Kuhr was promoted to assistant inside linebackers coach the following season, a role he held until Vrabel’s tenure ended in 2023.
After a year as a defensive assistant with the New York Giants, Kuhr rejoined Vrabel and Williams in New England.
Kuhr said any success he’s had this season stems from that support system around him — coaches and players. Though his pedigree as a college coach came on the offensive side of the ball, he said his time as a Tennessee assistant, where he initially switched to the defensive side of the ball, has been key.
“I’ve always been like whatever I’m going to do, I’m going to pour into,” Kuhr said. “I didn’t want to be like, ‘Oh, I’m this offensive guy and this is temporary.’ (In Tennessee) I just learned from Shane (Bowen) and (Jim) Schwartz and T and Vrabes, and it just bloomed from there.”
Patriots linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson said one of Kuhr’s best attributes is that he knows when not to do too much.
“I think Zak, man, he’s doing his thing. One thing is let the players play,” Davis said. “He believes that we make every call right. He draws up some great plays. But his true understanding is that it doesn’t work unless we go out there and perfect them. He appreciates every player’s skill set and what they bring to the defense. And he utilizes them the right way for sure.”
Kuhr said he plans to make Sunday a celebration of what everyone has been building together.
That will be an ode not only to the confidence and knowledge he said Williams has supplied him, but freedom and trust given to him by Vrabel as well.
“(Vrabel) challenges you with great intention to push you. It’s not, I’m being hard on you,” Kuhr said. “You feel so confident going into the game because everybody on the staff and him knows that we’re always going through this together. We all have your back, don’t be scared to call something, where some places you’re afraid to call something because you’re afraid of the backlash. … It just gives you that much more confidence on game day.”
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