Promoting Zak Kuhr to defensive coordinator was the logical choice in the aftermath of Terrell Williams moving to a different role on staff, but the New England Patriots still had to adhere to the NFL’s hiring processes. This meant satisfying the Rooney Rule by interviewing at least two minority or female candidates for every open coordinator position.
One of the coaches that helped them meet that requirement is Cleveland Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda. According to a report by Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston, Banda interviewed with the Patriots for their open defensive coordinator spot.
Obviously, he did not get the job; on Tuesday, news broke that the Patriots would officially be moving Kuhr to the DC role. Regardless of the outcome and the role his interview played in the team getting there, Banda is an intriguing name.
A safety during his college career at Incarnate Word, he started is coaching career at his alma mater as a student assistant in 2011. From there, Banda moved to Texas and Mississippi State, serving as graduate assistant and defensive quality control coach, respectively. In 2016, he was hired by the University of Miami to coach safeties, and in his fourth year with the Hurricanes was promoted to co-defensive coordinator.
Two seasons later, Banda was hired as DC and safeties coach at Utah State. In 2023, he eventually made the jump to the NFL, joining the Browns under head coach Kevin Stefanski and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Banda did not just coach a unit better than Cleveland’s overall record particularly in 2024 and 2025 would suggest, he also crossed paths with Mike Vrabel along the way. Between getting fired by the Titans in January 2024 and hired by the Patriots a year later, Vrabel worked as a consultant for the Browns.
That, plus the fact that Cleveland will have neither Stefanski nor Schwartz back in 2026, makes fore a natural connection between Banda and the Patriots. And while it unsurprisingly did not lead to him earning the defensive coordinator role, he might be a name to keep an eye on should there be any other openings on Vrabel’s staff in the future.