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Williams is a veteran of the coaching ranks, joining the Raiders in 2012 before stints with the Dolphins, Titans, and Lions. He held the the title of defensive line coach in all four spots and added assistant head coach to his resume under Mike Vrabel, now the Patriots’ boss, in Tennessee. Williams was also listed as the run game coordinator in Detroit. The Lions gave up the fifth-fewest rushing yards to opponents this season despite getting hit with a slew of injuries. Vrabel now has both of his coordinators set with Josh McDaniels reclaiming the title of offensive coordinator in New England.

We can’t say that comes as a real surprise. McDaniels reportedly completed an interview with the Patriots for their offensive coordinator vacancy today. The former Pats OC from 2006-2008, then again in 2012-2021 obviously has a ton of familiarity with how things operate in New England. The Raiders head coaching role was a tough fit for him and exposed him as a little rigid at times — there were certainly games where Davante Adams disappeared in the process — but he has the best resume of anyone we’ve seen connected to this job. McDaniels did not coach in 2024 after being fired in November 2023. He was tied to the Patriots often last offseason as well. Now we’ll get to see if he can take Drake Maye to the next level in 2025. If the Patriots add some more weapons around Maye, they could be an intriguing fantasy offense next season.

The longtime defensive line coach moved over to Detroit this offseason after spending 2018-2023 on Mike Vrabel’s staff in Tennessee. With Tennessee, he was an assistant head coach in 2023. He also has a long history in the league as a defensive line coach, including stints in Miami (2015-2017) and Oakland (2012-2014) as well as Tennessee. Williams served as Vrabel’s head coach in a preseason game in 2023, so Vrabel clearly believes he has the chops for a higher-level job. We expect this deal will come together shortly. The brain drain of the Lions continues.

Breer adds that Udinski is reportedly a finalist for the Seahawks offensive coordinator job. The Patriots have returned to being close to the vest on OC interviews, with our only news coming from head coach Mike Vrabel admitting during an interview on WEEI that the team would talk to Josh McDaniels. Udinski, suddenly in demand after helping lead the Sam Darold resurgence and reportedly acting as a mentor for J.J. McCarthy, would be an unorthodox choice on paper but certainly seems to have developed some momentum in the cocoon this season that we didn’t see much of on the outside.

Cowden was reportedly Vrabel’s candidate to be general manager in Tennessee in 2023 before Amy Strunk Adams hired Ran Carthon. Now he resurfaces in New England under his former charge, and the Giants let him out of his contract to make it happen. It makes plenty of sense for Cowden, as the Giants front office isn’t exactly on firm ground right now despite being retained. Is he a real threat to Patriots GM Eliot Wolf, who didn’t exactly build a great roster for Jerod Mayo last year? That remains to be seen, but clearly Cowden is a Vrabel hire.

The twice-failed head coach was at his best when he was calling plays for the Patriots offense from 2006-2008 and again from 2012-2021. Of course, a lot as changed since then, as several key members of those Patriots teams have left, most notably Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. However, with a familiar face now back in the building in head coach Mike Vrabel, it should come as no surprise that McDaniels will have a chance to return to Foxborough for a third stint as the team’s offensive coordinator. A chance to be paired with second-year quarterback Drake Maye could be an enticing one for McDaniels, but this offense is still in need of massive overhaul before having a chance to be competitive.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first to report the hiring, although it’s worth noting FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported on Saturday night that “barring something unforeseen,” the Patriots were expected to hire Vrabel. It’s now nearly official, as the former Titans head coach will soon put pen to paper to become the second head coach of the Patriots in the post Bill Belichick era. The Patriots blew through their interview process, and wasted little time to reach the decision to hire the coach who spent eight years as a player with the team from 2001-2008. Vrabel boasts a 54-45 record as a head coach during his six years with the Titans, and is now set to takeover for a team that appears to already have its franchise quarterback intact with Drake Maye. Couple this with nearly $130 million in cap space to play with, and there’s a suddenly a strong case to be made for the Patriots as a bounce back team next season.

“Barring something unforeseen,” Vrabel, who played for the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, will be New England’s next head coach after the team parted ways with Jerod Mayo after the 2024 regular season. Vrabel’s Titans teams went 54-45 over six seasons, with three playoff berths. Among the most hard nosed, conservative coaches in football, Vrabel appears locked in for the job a year after losing out to Mayo, who took over for legendary head coach Bill Belichick. Vrabel’s first priority will be finding an offensive coordinator who can get the most out of Drake Maye and a receivers room bereft of talent.

Vrabel interviewed with New England on Thursday. Schefter echoed an earlier report from the Athletic’s Dianna Russini by stating that the Patriots will be charting their next steps in their coaching search this weekend. With Vrabel not currently tied to another team, he’s the obvious candidate for a team that appears to be moving quickly towards finding its next coach.

Glenn already has five interviews lined up over the next three days. The Lions’ defensive coordinator is already scheduled to speak with the Jets, Saints, Raiders, Jaguars, and Bears and is not interested in setting up a sixth interview at this time — for one reason or another. Glenn is a near lock to land a head coaching job this offseason after keeping the Lions’ defense competitive despite multiple injuries to key players all season long. There’s a good chance he’ll meet with a few of these teams for a second time next week.