\u201cMan, if my fingernail hurts, I\u2019m almost ready to go to the doctor now,\u201d said Williams, who has been in remission since January. \u201cAnd it\u2019s like we\u2019re as men, not just coaches, but as men \u2014 and sometimes women too, as well \u2014 we try to tough things out. No, when something is bothering you health-wise, especially as you get up in age, it\u2019s important that you take a look at it.\u201d <\/p>\n
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There\u2019s not an official Comeback Coach of the Year award, but if one existed, Williams would be the favorite. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after coaching in the 2025 season-opener against the Raiders, forcing him to relinquish his defensive coordinator duties to current coordinator Zak Kuhr. <\/p>\n
Williams had missed time in the spring with a health issue<\/a> and felt worn down during training camp, even fainting<\/a>. Tell-tale signs in hindsight. But on this September night he was vomiting. The bathroom kept calling. Sleep flitted like a bee beyond his reach. But he\u2019s a football coach. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t say anything to anyone because I wanted to coach in the game and not be a distraction or anything like that,\u201d Williams recalled. \u201cI remember sitting in my chair before the game started, before I went out for warmups, thinking if this wasn\u2019t a regular-season game, there\u2019s no way I would be able to go out here and do this. But I did, and we lost the game. <\/p>\n \u201cThe next day, [Patriots coach Mike Vrabel] came into my office and was like, \u2018Hey, how you feeling?\u2019 And I told him, \u2018Man, not good,\u2019 and so I went to the hospital.\u201d <\/p>\n After initially thinking lymphoma, doctors found prostate cancer had spread to his collarbone, hips, groin, and legs. What followed was hormone therapy \u2014 prostate cancer feeds on testosterone \u2014 and chemotherapy. He endured six rounds of chemo, three weeks apart, at Massachusetts General Hospital. He had his personal team, wife Tifini and son Tahj, and the Patriots team, which donned \u201cT-Strong\u201d gear, behind him. <\/p>\n Before that, prostate cancer wasn\u2019t on his radar. It wasn\u2019t on this writer\u2019s radar either before being diagnosed.<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d said the 52-year-old Williams. \u201cI wish I would have known when I got it and been able to tackle it earlier.\u201d <\/p>\n That\u2019s why PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing is vital, especially for Black men. According to True North<\/a>, a global prostate cancer awareness program funded by the Movember men\u2019s health charity, one in eight men and one in six Black men will get prostate cancer. <\/p>\n True North recommends that men start the screening conversation between ages 40-45 if they have a family history of prostate cancer or Black ancestry, advising that \u201cprostate cancer also tends to develop at a younger age and grow faster in Black men than in any other group.\u201d <\/p>\n Defensive tackle Milton Williams, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, said Terrell Williams\u2019s diagnosis was \u201ca gut punch.\u201d But said he\u2019s back to being the \u201csame old T.\u201d <\/p>\n That\u2019s a victory. Sometimes last season, just serving as Fort Foxborough\u2019s appointed delivery guy for takeaway gifts presented to players who registered turnovers was a Herculean task. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I would take the Uber to Gillette, drop off the gifts, and come back home and get back in the bed or get on the couch and try to rest,\u201d said Williams, who has been an NFL assistant coach since 2012, including six seasons on Vrabel\u2019s Titans staff<\/a>. <\/p>\n Williams often considers how fortunate he is to be in this medical mecca. He\u2019s also grateful to be on a caring staff, led by Vrabel, where his co-workers, many of whom he worked with in Tennessee, are friends. <\/p>\n \u201cI tell people all the time, I don\u2019t know if I would have been able to make it through without the guys that I work with, without this particular staff and with the head coach in particular because he was so understanding and so supportive,\u201d said Williams. <\/p>\n \u201cTake the football away from it, we\u2019re all really good friends \u2026 and so now in my role, I\u2019m just here really to help those guys game plan and do whatever it is that Vrabes needs me to do.\u201d <\/p>\n Players feel his impact, regardless of title. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still letting us know about certain things, about scouting and everything, certain players and prepping,\u201d said cornerback Marcus Jones. \u201cSo, he\u2019s doing the same thing [he did before as defensive coordinator] when it comes down to it.\u201d <\/p>\n Williams\u2019s PSA<\/a>, more than 600 when he was diagnosed, has plummeted down to \u201czero-point something.\u201d Still, the disease remains in the back of his mind. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel good, like I feel normal. There\u2019s no limitations,\u201d said Williams. \u201cI\u2019m working, but always in the back of my head, it\u2019s like, OK, is this thing going to come back?\u201d <\/p>\n But what matters is that he\u2019s back and sharing his message to help others. <\/p>\n Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at christopher.gasper@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @cgasper<\/a> and on Instagram @cgaspersports<\/a>.<\/p>\n