© Eric Canha/Imagn
It’s not uncommon for ESPN star Stephen A. Smith to say something ridiculous and untrue. In fact, many would argue that Smith has made his whole career off of doing just that.
But the highly paid talking head took things to a new level recently when he mistakenly credited New England Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams for the team advancing to the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos.
Exhibit #41,284 of national sports talk hosts being clueless.
Stephen A Smith thinks Terrell Williams has been coaching the Patriots defense all year. Terrell Williams has been battling prostate cancer and Zak Kuhr has been the interim DC almost the entire season. https://t.co/593RhDT5DN pic.twitter.com/DkiGHEFGfY
— Kleaver (@KleaverSports) January 23, 2026
The gaffe occurred on Friday’s episode of First Take, when Smith argued that Williams, whose defense forced five turnovers against Houston, wasn’t getting enough credit, in part because of his race.
“There’s a defense that Jarrett Stidham has to go up against,” said. ‘There is a brother coaching that defense, Terrell Williams. We ain’t mention him all year long. Reunited with Mike Vrabel … this man has done a helluva job with a defense that’s ranked top five in the National Football League, OK, so we going to give brothers credit on this show. And that brother’s doing his thing.”
The Patriots’ defense has been impressive this season. That much is undeniable. There’s just one major problem with Smith’s argument.
Terrell Williams Has Missed New England Patriots’ Season With Cancer Battle
Williams isn’t actually calling New England’s defense this season.
Instead, that responsibility has fallen to linebackers coach Zak Kurh as Williams has been away from the team for almost the entire season while receiving treatment for prostate.
Now, Patriots’ coach Mike Vrabel said earlier in the season that Williams was around the team between treatments and even sat in on meetings. So he’s not entirely out of the fold. But to say he’s orchestrating the defense is just not an accurate reflection of reality.
Smith, of course, refused to simply own up to the mistake.
“Nice try! First of all, we reported earlier in the year that he was out due to Prostate Cancer when it happened,” he posted on X. “Secondly, he still talks to coaches for game-planning purposes. Thirdly, forgetting to mention all of that is different than not knowing — plus it really doesn’t matter when I’ve got experts like Ryan Clark and Cam backing me up. But keep pushing the story. Hope it gets the clicks folks want. Carry on!”
Ah, yes, because Cam Newton has never been painfully wrong about anything about football before…