Terrell Williams enters his third season with the Dolphins after being named defensive line coach on Feb. 6, 2015.

In 2016, Williams helped the Dolphins to their most successful season in eight years, winning 10 games and earning their first playoff berth since 2008. Defensive end Cameron Wake returned from an Achilles injury at 34 years old and had one of the most dominant seasons of his eight-year NFL career. Wake finished third in the AFC and tied for sixth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks. Miami won nine of its final 11 games and in those 11 contests, Wake was second in the NFL with 10.5 sacks. Since Williams joined the coaching staff in 2015, Wake has forced nine fumbles, the most in the NFL during that span, despite playing just seven games in 2015. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh once again ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in sacks by a defensive tackle with five and his 72 total tackles (41 solo) were a career high and third among all interior defensive linemen in the league. Both Suh and Wake earned Pro Bowl selections.

In his first season with Miami, Williams helped the defensive line become one of just four NFL teams to have three players with six-plus sacks in 2015 (defensive end Cameron Wake, 7.0; defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, 6.0; defensive end Olivier Vernon, 7.5). Wake posted four sacks in the win at Tennessee (10/18), tied for the fifth-most sacks in a single game in club history. He also helped Wake rank tied for second in the NFL with four forced fumbles in 2015 despite only playing in seven games due to injury. The defensive end totaled seven sacks for the sixth consecutive season and joined Julius Peppers as the only two NFL players to total at least seven sacks in each of the past six seasons.

Williams was also influential in the play of Vernon and Suh. Vernon finished the 2015 campaign with 36 quarterback hits, the third-most in the NFL, and tied for fourth among all players with 18 tackles for loss. Among all defensive tackles, Suh was second with 11.5 tackles for loss. He also was tied for fourth among players at his position with 20 quarterback hits.

Williams joined the Dolphins from the University of Florida, having been named the school’s defensive line coach on Jan. 3, 2015. Prior to Florida, Williams spent three seasons as the defensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders (2012-14). In 2014, Williams’ unit helped the defense rank eighth in the NFL in fewest rushing yards allowed per play (3.97) and finished second in the NFL in stuffs (tackles recorded at or behind the line of scrimmage) with 54. In 2013, the Raiders ranked 13th in the NFL and sixth in the AFC in rushing yards allowed per game (107.9), while limiting three opponents to less than 40 yards on the ground. Additionally that season, the Raiders held opponents to only five rushes of 20-or-more yards, tied for the fewest allowed in the league.

Prior to joining the Raiders, Williams spent two seasons (2010-11) as defensive line coach at Texas A&M. During his tenure, the Aggies advanced to a pair of bowl games, including a win over Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas in 2011. The Aggies led the nation with 51 sacks in 2011 and finished third nationally with an average of eight tackles for loss per game. In 2010, Williams helped lead the Aggies to a share of the program’s first Big 12 South crown in more than a decade and a berth in the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M allowed just 101.9 rushing yards per game, ranking 12th in the nation. In his first season, A&M improved from 90th to 30th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 130.2 yards per contest.

Williams came to A&M after four years (2006-09) as the defensive line coach at Purdue. During his time with the Boilermakers, Williams coached the entire line each year with the exception of 2008, when he focused solely on the defensive end position. During his time at Purdue, Williams tutored future NFL lineman Anthony Spencer, who led the NCAA in tackles for loss and was a first-team All-American before becoming a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys. He also coached future NFL players Cliff Avril, Alex McGee, Mike Neal, Ryan Kerrigan and Kawann Short.

Prior to his tenure at Purdue, Williams coached the defensive line at Akron from 2004-05. During his time at Akron, the Zips won the Mid-American Conference championship game (2005) and played in the Motor City Bowl, both marking firsts in program history. Williams spent two years (2002-03) as the defensive line coach at Youngstown State and served on the coaching staff at North Carolina A&T from 1999-2001. He helped North Carolina A&T rank third in total defense among NCAA Division I-AA schools in 1999, allowing 259.4 yards per game, and fifth in 2000 with 261.2 yards per game. Williams got his start in coaching working with the defensive line at Fort Scott Community College during the 1998 season.

In 2007, Williams served an internship with the Seattle Seahawks, assisting the defensive line during training camp. During the summer of 1999, Williams interned with the Jacksonville Jaguars, assisting with the defensive line, and with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.

A native of Los Angeles, Williams played nose guard at East Carolina and helped the Pirates to a Liberty Bowl victory over Stanford in 1995. He transferred to East Carolina from West Los Angeles College and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in history. He and his wife, Tifini, have two sons, Tahj and Tyson, who passed away in 2012.