Every Monday when he could, Terrell Williams would show up for New England’s defensive meetings and praise the unit for an interception, sack or pass breakup during the previous game, and his players found joy in seeing the strength of their coach as he fought cancer.
“I feel like he never lost it,” linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson said. “He still had the charismatic energy and kept a smile on his face; he kept being positive. You wouldn’t be able to know anything was going on with him. I appreciated everything that he showed throughout the process.”
The defensive coordinator is now back with the New England Patriots for the Super Bowl on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks after a nearly five-month battle with prostate cancer.
Williams attended meetings at the Patriots’ facility during his treatment, but he hasn’t traveled with the team all season and hasn’t been on the sideline since Week 1. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr filled in as New England’s defensive play-caller.
Williams was declared cancer-free during the playoffs and cleared to join the team at the Super Bowl.
He was diagnosed because he thought he had a stomach illness following a Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. When Williams told Mike Vrabel after the game he wasn’t feeling well, the head coach urged him to get checked out by the medical staff and Williams was immediately sent to urgent care.
“As they were doing tests, that’s when they found out about the cancer, so thank God that I had the stomach flu because if I didn’t, it just would have been business as usual,” Williams said Monday at media night for the Super Bowl.
Chaisson said Williams provided everybody with an emotional lift with his presence and positive spirit despite the obstacles he faced.
“It’s huge, for sure,” Chaisson said of Williams’ return. “Coach has been with us throughout all year, though. We never forgot about him. Everybody continued to call and check on him throughout his recovery, but to see him back around and to see him full-time smiling and his very positive energy, it’ll uplift every ounce of joy that we have in our lives.”
Williams focused on his mental approach and found it important to share his tough days with the players “because keeping that stuff in, that’s not the way to go.”
“I’m from South-Central Los Angeles, and we were taught where I grew up to keep things inside,” he said. “And now going through what I went through over the last year, I’m not keeping it inside, I’m sharing with people. The struggles, not just the nausea and the things you’re going through, but also the mental part, because there’s a mental component that’s probably the biggest going through a struggle like that.”
Safety Jaylinn Hawkins praised Williams’ heart, even when he was dealing with his illness.
“He’s been a hell of a coach for us since he got here,” Hawkins said. “All that he was going through, he still managed to show up for us and that’s special and that means a lot. Showing up for people is something I take serious. To see him showing up for our team the way he did regardless of what was going on was just amazing to me, and that just shows how much he loves and cares about us.”
Now that he is medically cleared, Williams is busy preparing his team for a tough Seahawks offense. But he’s also allowing himself to reflect a bit on his remarkable comeback journey.
“Honestly, my thoughts are about the game and not really about me or the Super Bowl or anything,” he said. “This could be a preseason game, and I’d be happy to be here with these guys after kind of what I’ve been through, what we’ve been through. It’s been joyous for me just to watch them develop and watch them buy into the message that Vrabes is preaching.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
