From the junior college ranks to the sport's highest levels, Terrell Williams has a 25-year coaching resumè full of impressive roles.
This weekend, as the NFL's Tennessee Titans open their preseason slate against the Chicago Bears, Williams is going to add an additional element of growth and responsibility: acting head coach.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel announced Monday that Williams would serve as the Titans's head coach in the exhibition lid-lifter at Chicago. Williams presently is Tennessee's assistant head coach for defense/defensive line.
"I told the team and everyone involved here in the organization Terrell Williams will act as the head coach against Chicago, starting on Friday," Vrabel, who got his head coaching opportunity just seven years into his career on the sideline, said to gathered reporters. "This is a great opportunity for him and for us and for everyone involved.
"So, 'Big T' will handle that."
It's an undeniably stellar move for Vrabel to amplify his assistant's duties for this game; the move can both help Williams better serve the Titans and also lend the 25-year coaching veteran a showcase-event that could be pivotal in growing his career towards a head coaching opportunity.
Williams, a former stalwart on the defensive line at East Carolina in his playing days, began to intern with the NFL just as his coaching career was unfolding at the junior college level.
He's coached at the Power-5 level -- Purdue and Texas A&M -- as well as three different NFL franchises. Williams coached with the Raiders and Miami Dolphins before Vrabel hired him after Vrabel took over the Tennessee franchise in 2018.