Mike Vrabel has his sights set on his next Patriots defensive coordinator.

According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports/247Sports, the Patriots are targeting Detroit Lions defensive line coach/run game coordinator Terrell Williams to be their new defensive coordinator. This would reunite Vrabel with a coach who was one of his top lieutenants during his time in Tennessee.

Williams has been linked to the Patriots since Vrabel’s hiring. On Sunday, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported “Some around the NFL believe Williams would be Vrabel’s ideal pick as defensive coordinator.”

The Patriots also interviewed Miami Dolphins outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow for their vacant defensive coordinator position. Crow also spent every year in Tennessee with Vrabel.

Williams, 50, has been coaching defensive linemen since 1998. He was hired by Vrabel in 2018 to be the Titans defensive line coach. Williams was with the new Patriots head coach for every season in Tennessee. In 2023, Vrabel promoted Williams to be his assistant head coach along with his defensive line coach duties.

When Vrabel was fired from Tennessee, Williams was hired by Lions coach Dan Campbell to be his defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach. That move worked out for the Lions. This past season, Detroit was ranked fifth in the NFL in yards per attempt (4.33) and 11th in the league in rushing yards per game (182.0).

“I think he’s the best D-Line coach in the league,” Campbell told reporters at last year’s NFL Combine. “If he’s not, he’s certainly right up there. I think he knows how to develop, he’s got experience in game-planning and he’s going to be beneficial for our guys up front.”

Williams coached in the college ranks at Fort Scott (1998), North Carolina AT&T (1999-2001), Youngstown State (2002-2003), Akron (2004-2005), Purdue (2006-2009), and Texas A&M (2012-2014). He landed in the NFL as the defensive line coach for the Raiders from 2012-2014. In his first year there, Williams coached NFL and Patriots Hall of Famer Richard Seymour. He then coached in Miami (2015-2017) before joining Vrabel in Tennessee.

When asked about the playing style he wants from his players, Williams used one word.

“Violent,” Williams told Lions reporters. “That’s it. That’s it. I’m not gonna give you a dissertation about, ‘Hey, we have to do this …’ You gotta play violent, and you gotta play with effort. The violent element of it, that’s a big part of playing that position. You want guys that accept that. You have to accept that’s just what that position is. It’s a violent, high-collision position, and you’ve gotta play with effort, and if you can’t do that, you’re gonna have a hard time playing. I haven’t seen very many high-level starters that aren’t violent players. That just doesn’t work, it doesn’t go hand-in-hand.

“I’ve coached some of the most violent on-the-field players and have (coached Jeffery) Simmons, had (Ndamukong) Suh in Miami, had Richard Seymour in Oakland, and even some of the undersized (players), like Cam Wake in Miami, who was 260, 250 pounds, he was one of the most violent football players — people look at him as a pass rusher but he rushed violently when you watch him, and that’s just what it is. I don’t know any other way to explain it other than we’re looking for violent players. That’s just what it has to be.”