Zak Kuhr

Last updated
Zak Kuhr
New England Patriots
TitleInside linebackers coach
Personal information
Born (1988-04-19) April 19, 1988 (age 37) [1]
Career history

Zachary Adam Kuhr (born April 19, 1988) [1] is an American football coach who is inside linebackers coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Amid the absence of Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams during the 2025 season for medical treatment, he has also been the team's defensive playcaller and de facto defensive coordinator.

Contents

Coaching career

Early career

Kuhr began his coaching career as an assistant for Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Florida. He later became the offensive coordinator for Westside High School. He began his career as a college coach in 2009, joining Edward Waters University as their special teams coordinator for two seasons. He was later an intern at Ohio State under head coach Urban Meyer from 2011-12 and a graduate assistant at Old Dominion in 2013. He joined James Madison University as the running backs coach in the 2014 season, and became co-offensive coordinator in the 2015 season. [2] He was hired by Rutgers as their running backs coach for the 2016 season. [3] He joined Texas State as their running backs coach and a co-offensive coordinator for the 2017 season, and became an associate head coach in the 2018 season. [4] In 2019, Kuhr was hired by Texas as an assistant coach.

Tennessee Titans

In 2020, Kuhr was hired by the Tennessee Titans as a defensive quality coach under head coach Mike Vrabel. He had previously overlapped with Vrabel when both were on the staff at Ohio State. In 2021, he became a inside linebackers assistant and stayed in this role for three seasons.

Although Kuhr was primarily an offensive coach in his collegiate career, Vrabel hired him as a defensive coach to help defensive players prepare for college-style offensive schemes that were becoming popular in the NFL. [5] During his time in Tennessee, he was mentored by longtime defensive coaches Jim Schwartz and Shane Bowen. [6]

New York Giants

In 2024, Kuhr was hired as a defensive assistant for the New York Giants.

New England Patriots

In 2025, Kuhr was hired by the New England Patriots to be their inside linebackers coach, reuniting with Mike Vrabel. During the season, Kuhr took over defensive playcalling duties after defensive coordinator Terrell Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer and stepped away from the team to undergo treatment. [5] [6]

Personal life

Kuhr attended the University of Florida before he began his career in college coaching. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Zak Kuhr Coaching Record and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Zak Kuhr - Football Coach". James Madison University Athletics. September 20, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Chris Ash Adds Zak Kuhr to Coaching Staff". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Zak Kuhr - Football Coach". Texas State Athletics. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Graff, Chad (September 18, 2025). "Meet Zak Kuhr, the former offensive coach now calling the Patriots' plays on defense". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Daniels, Mark (January 9, 2026). "From linebacker coach to defensive coordinator, Zak Kuhr has stepped up for Patriots". MassLive. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  7. ↑ read, Jake Mozarsky·5 min (January 18, 2026). "Who is Zak Kuhr? What to know about Patriots defensive caller mystifying offenses". Yahoo Sports.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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