SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Football program has announced that Aaron Henry has joined the coaching staff as Co-Defensive Coordinator and Pat and Jana Eilers Defensive Backs Coach.
Henry enters his 13th season of coaching in 2026 and has experience as a defensive coordinator and positional coaching responsibilities as a defensive backs, cornerbacks and safeties coach in multiple stints in the college coaching ranks. He most recently served as the defensive coordinator/secondary coach at the University of Illinois.
In 2025, Henry mentored eight of Illinois’ 11 defensive starters to All-Big Ten honors. All-Big Ten First Team honoree Gabe Jacas led the conference in sacks (11.0) during the regular season and was in the top ten among league defensive players in both forced fumbles and sack yards. The Fighting Illini wrapped up the season with a marquee defensive effort against No. 23 Tennessee in a Music City Bowl win. Illinois held the Tennessee offense, which was ranked fourth in the nation in yards per game, to a season-low 278 total yards.
The 2024 Illini tied the program record with 10 victories and were ranked No. 16 in the final AP Top 25 Poll of the season. The defensive unit ranked 10th among all FBS programs in 2024 with 15 forced fumbles while the team’s 24 sacks in Big Ten contests was tied for fifth in the conference. All-Big Ten First Team selection Xavier Scott was a semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award in 2024 and ranked second in the conference in interceptions (4). Henry also mentored Jacas, TeRah Edwards, Dylan Rosiek and Matthew Bailey to All-Big Ten honors that season.
Henry was named as the defensive coordinator for Illinois ahead of the ReliaQuest Bowl in January 2023, becoming the youngest coordinator in the Big Ten. During the regular season in 2023, Henry and the Fighting Illini defense saw defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton earn Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year honors. Newton was a consensus All-American in his final season at Illinois and was a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. A finalist for the Nagurski Trophy in 2023, Newton led Big Ten defensive tackles with 7.5 sacks and was seventh in the nation at his position in tackles (52) during the regular season.
Henry served as the defensive backs coach for Illinois in the 2022 and 2021 seasons. The 2022 Fighting Illini defense led the nation in scoring defense (12.8 ppg), interceptions (24), total takeaways (32) and passing efficiency defense (92.64). Illinois ranked second in the nation in fewest passing touchdowns allowed (9) and fewest yards per passing attempt (5.4) that same season. The 173.8 yards per game allowed by the Illini was eighth among FBS programs in 2022, and Illinois ranked ninth in third down defense (30.1 percent) to end the season.
The 2022 season was also marked by the success of cornerback Devon Witherspoon under Henry’s mentorship. Witherspoon became Illinois’ first defensive back to earn consensus All-America honors in 2022 and was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A Paycom Jim Thorpe Award finalist, Witherspoon was named the Big Ten Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year in 2022. Witherspoon went on to be named to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks. Defensive backs Jartavius Martin and Sydney Brown were also selected in the second and third rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, respectively. Illinois was the only team in the country to have three defensive backs chosen in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft in 2023.
Henry played a large part in Illinois’ wins over nationally-ranked Penn State and Minnesota in the 2021 season. The Illini were ranked 31st in scoring defense, 31st in third down defense and 52nd in total defense among FBS programs at the end of the season. In Big Ten play, Illinois led the league in fewest passing yards allowed during the 2021 season. The defense was in the top five in the Big Ten in touchdowns allowed (t-3rd), scoring defense (4th) and yards allowed per game (5th) in Henry’s first year as the defensive backs coach.
In 2020, Henry served as the cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt. The cornerbacks coach at NC State in 2019 and 2018, Henry first joined the Wolfpack coaching staff as the safeties coach in 2017. NC State was third in the ACC in red zone defense and fourth in the conference in scoring defense in 2018.
Henry was the defensive backs coach for Rutgers in 2016, which also marked his first full-time coaching position. The Scarlet Knights had the sixth-ranked red zone defense in the nation (0.727) in 2016. Rutgers was fourth in the Big Ten in passing yards allowed per game (186.5), which also ranked 18th nationally. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant defensive coach at Arkansas for the 2015 and 2014 seasons.
A 2011 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Henry was an All-Big Ten First Team selection and a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy in his final season. A four-year letterwinner for the Badgers, he finished his playing career with seven interceptions and 181 tackles at Wisconsin. Henry earned his bachelor’s degree in consumer affairs from Wisconsin in 2011.
THE HENRY FILE
Hometown: Immokalee, Fla.
High School: Immokalee
College: Wisconsin (2011), Arkansas (master’s degree, 2015)
Wife: Camille
Children: Harlow and Dakota
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
- 2007-11 Wisconsin (Defensive Back)
COACHING CAREER
- 2014-15 Arkansas Graduate Assistant, Defense
- 2016 Rutgers Defensive Backs Coach
- 2017 NC State Safeties Coach
- 2018-19 NC State Cornerbacks Coach
- 2020 Vanderbilt Cornerbacks Coach
- 2021-22 Illinois Defensive Backs Coach
- 2023-25 Illinois Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach
BOWLS COACHED
- 2014 Texas Bowl (Arkansas)
- 2015 Liberty Bowl (Arkansas)
- 2017 Hyundai Sun Bowl (NC State)
- 2018 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (NC State)
- 2022 ReliaQuest Bowl (Illinois)
- 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Illinois)
- 2025 Music City Bowl (Illinois)
PERSONAL INFORMATION
- Henry earned his bachelor’s degree in consumer affairs from Wisconsin in 2011.
- A defensive back for the Badgers, he was a four-year letterwinner and a two-year starter at Wisconsin while playing both cornerback and safety.
- Henry was named as a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2011 and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.
- An honorable mention freshman All-American and First Team Freshman All-Big Ten honoree by the Sporting News in 2007, Henry was named Wisconsin’s Co-Rookie of the Year.
- He earned a master’s degree in sports management from Arkansas in 2015.
COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- In 2025, helped guide Illinois to a victory over No. 23 Tennessee in the Music City Bowl while holding the Volunteers to a season-low 278 total yards of offense.
- Henry mentored eight of Illinois’ 11 defensive starters to All-Big Ten honors at the conclusion of the 2025 season, including First Team honoree Gabe Jacas.
- The Illinois defense was ranked 31st in the nation in scoring defense (21.7 ppg) in 2024 as the Fighting Illini tied the program record with 10 wins.
- Illinois held No. 14 South Carolina to 14 points below their scoring average in a victory in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
- The 2024 Illinois defense ranked 10th in the nation with 15 forced fumbles and was tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 24 sacks in league play. Xavier Scott earned All-Big Ten First Team honors and was a semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award.
- Henry had five members of the defensive unit garner All-Big Ten accolades in the 2024 season.
- In his first season as defensive coordinator for the Fighting Illini in 2023, Henry’s defense was led by second-round NFL Draft pick Jer’Zhan Newton. Newton was named as both the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown BIg Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year. A finalist for the Nagurski Trophy in 2023, Newton led Big Ten defensive tackles with 7.5 sacks and was seventh in the nation at his position in tackles (52) during the regular season.
- The 2022 Fighting Illini defense led the nation in scoring defense (12.8 ppg), interceptions (24), total takeaways (32) and passing efficiency defense (92.64). Illinois ranked second in the nation in fewest passing touchdowns allowed (9) and fewest yards per passing attempt (5.4) that same season.
- Devon Witherspoon became Illinois’ first defensive back to earn consensus All-America honors in 2022 and was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A Paycom Jim Thorpe Award finalist, Witherspoon was named the Big Ten Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year in 2022. Witherspoon went on to be named to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks.
- Defensive backs Jartavius Martin and Sydney Brown were also selected in the second and third rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, respectively. Illinois was the only team in the country to have three defensive backs chosen in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft in 2023.
- In 2021, Illinois earned wins over nationally-ranked Penn State and Minnesota. The Illini were ranked 31st in scoring defense, 31st in third down defense and 52nd in total defense among FBS programs at the end of the season. In Big Ten play, Illinois led the league in fewest passing yards allowed in 2021.
- In 2020, Henry served as the cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt. The cornerbacks coach at NC State in 2019 and 2018, Henry first joined the Wolfpack coaching staff as the safeties coach in 2017.
- Henry was the defensive backs coach for Rutgers in 2016, which also marked his first full-time coaching position. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant defensive coach at Arkansas for the 2015 and 2014 seasons.