How a Patriots coach’s battle with cancer is inspiring their defense

Every week Terrell Williams sits in the back of a room he used to command Players file into the Patriots defensive meetings and slide into the rows of seats before him Snippets of their conversations echo off the windowless walls His replacement stands at the front of the room and quiets the audience before kicking off another presentation Williams listens Zak Kuhr has led the Patriots defense for weeks now a former offensive assistant turned interim defensive coordinator Kuhr s resume which shows he s only coached defense for five years suggests he s not ready for the job But over six weeks the unit has improved This makes Williams happy Seeing Williams does the same for everyone around him It s inspiring to see somebody who s going through a battle right now fighting things but still wants to be here be present and give his best for us Pats rookie safety Craig Woodson mentioned That s somebody who we want to dedicate our encounter to Williams has prostate cancer For almost two months cancer has kept him from his job but it has yet to separate Williams from what he treasures bulk about his football life the bonds he builds along the way Williams is not one of those coaches who requirements a reminder that the things that matter are the things that last and in football even more than championships legacy and relationships are forever Life is short too short to be consumed by game-planning film evaluation and wins and losses He knows this During his first season as an NFL coach in Williams lost a son seven days after doctors discovered the illness that ultimately took him Tyson Williams was four years old One of Williams players then ex-Raiders defensive lineman and Patriots great Richard Seymour was a pallbearer at Tyson s funeral It took time but Williams later decided he would open up about his son s death For years his players and colleagues even strangers have known about Tyson I share that story with my defensive line anywhere I go and any coach when I am doing clinics Williams notified reporters in I think everyone demands to know that life is precious Sitting with Williams now in meetings conversing with him over text and stopping him for advice sometimes in the hallways players are learning from his humanity As cancer rages inside of him they see him smile They hear him laugh They watch Williams choose to live life outside of himself and through its joys instead of caving to the killer within I m a perfectionist so I try to be perfect in a lot of different things But with him being around I just think to myself that I m extremely fortunate Pats captain Harold Landry declared And I don t know it s just like the attitude everything that he is as a person it just makes me go about my day in a much more positive light Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams talks with defensive tackle Isaiah Iton during training camp in July in Foxboro Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald Patriots coach Mike Vrabel communicated Williams evaluation in a press conference on Sept weeks after players were informed privately To a man they kept his news from the society Until this week players also kept what it means to witness Williams fight and fight with pleasure Like the times he does command the room again after Kuhr calls him down to continue a new Patriots tradition All right Coach T How Williams stands and labors from the back one step at a time back to the front and back to normalcy How players turn and look How they beam The greatest gift As far as remote-control toy boats go the one sitting in the back of Christian Elliss car sounds like a Maserati built for the water It s jet black a limited feet long and reaches speeds up to MPH The veteran inside linebacker hasn t taken it out of the box yet Elliss three young boys the boat s indirect recipients don t even know about it But they will soon and when they do they will have one man to thank Williams The boat was a gift after Elliss forced a fumble in the fourth quarter of the Patriots tighter-than-expected win at New Orleans in Week After every Patriots contest Williams presents a gift to any player who forced a takeaway usually during defensive meetings on Wednesday For intercepting Josh Allen in Buffalo and Cam Ward last week in Tennessee cornerback Marcus Jones now owns a new wallet and expensive bottle of cologne The cologne is real good Jones announced It s smooth Elliss knows he owes Williams more than a boat He owes belief and confidence New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss holds a little boy after training camp at Gillette Stadium Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald After he missed eight tackles over the Patriots first three games and began to lose playing time Elliss heard from his former coordinator Since then he s whiffed just twice while adding tackles the forced fumble a pass breakup and two pressures When I was struggling he would constantly lift me up He would constantly be like You re good It s gonna come You re talented He would just list off all the things that he thinks I do well and he would really get my mind locked back in Ellis announced With him with my other coaches they all believe in me and for him especially he d inevitably shoot me a text and just be like This is what I think about you and this is how you re going to continue to play and this is how we want you to play ' Williams has done this before even with players he wasn t directly coaching at the time In his first season working under Vrabel as the Titans defensive line coach Williams reached out to an undrafted rookie linebacker during training camp The kid was tough and driven but in need of a little promotion That linebacker not only made the group but has stuck in the league ever since He s Patriots defensive captain Robert Spillane who signed a three-year million contract this offseason to play for Vrabel and Williams once more Williams saw something in me Spillane disclosed He relayed that to me and knew that I had a place in this league if I continued to work and got my chance To get reunited with him here I just want to make him proud Just to have him in the building his presence means so much to us as players Of all of Williams gifts players and assistants contend his presence inside the building is the greatest of all Williams capacity remains high and his positivity leaves them no choice but to carry on as they should playing and coaching a match for a living It s inspiring knowing what he s dealing with and what he s carrying that he s still here joking snickering caring Pats cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton commented It reminds me to not feel sorry for myself because here s a guy that s coming in and not only is he enjoying himself he s bringing life and spirit when he s in here And I know that he doesn t feel like doing that Fighting on New England Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams left speaks to a trainer during the second day of training camp on July Mark Stockwell Boston Herald Last summer Craig Woodson lost his grandmother to cancer He has another family member battling now He thinks of them and Williams often The affection has become an inescapable part of modern life even for -year-olds like Woodson who through loss has come to learn there is only one way through It s definitely a big thing and it s tough Woodson revealed But everybody going through it just has to keep fighting Williams is fighting His therapy will intensify in the coming days and perhaps limit or prevent his visits to the Patriots facility But if Williams can make it players are certain he will He s showing I m still here That matters commented Pats safety Jaylinn Hawkins I think it s a big deal It means a lot because what he s going through that s particular real serious serious things Everybody s got different things but that s something that s up there and for him to still prioritize coming in here It means a lot Because when he s around it does nothing but lift the spirit of everybody in here The Patriots plan to continue promoting the slogan T Strong a tribute to Williams that Vrabel wore on a pin during their last event at Tennessee and players carry on T-shirts they wear inside the facility For now as Williams readies to play the toughest defense of his life he s inspired the Patriots to play theirs one step one gift and one smile at a time Quote of the Week Great competitive spirit as a participant I mean he was a Tasmanian Devil I enjoyed the time with Bubba immensely And then being able to be with him in Cleveland last year it was fun to just see his relationship and connections with the players The way that he coaches his power his evaluation of players So he s done a great job in his role and I m sure that if presented with those opportunities he would do an amazing job with any head coaching opportunities that would come his way Vrabel on ex-Patriots teammate and current Browns special teams coordinator Ray Bubba Ventrone