Aaron Henry

Biography

Aaron Henry is the Co-Defensive Coordinator and Pat and Jana Eilers Defensive Backs Coach at Notre Dame. A native of Immokalee, Florida, Henry earned his bachelor's degree in consumer affairs from Wisconsin in 2011, where he was a four-year letterwinner and two-year starter at defensive back, playing both cornerback and safety. He was named a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2011 and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection. Henry earned a master's degree in sports management from Arkansas in 2015. As a coach, Henry has extensive experience developing elite defensive talent, most notably at Illinois where his defenses produced consensus All-American Devon Witherspoon (5th overall pick in 2023 NFL Draft) and three defensive backs selected in the first three rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. In 2025, he mentored eight of Illinois' 11 defensive starters to All-Big Ten honors. His 2022 Illinois defense led the nation in scoring defense, interceptions, and total takeaways. Henry has coached in bowl games including the 2025 Music City Bowl, 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, 2022 ReliaQuest Bowl, and others. He has previously held positions at Arkansas, Rutgers, NC State, and Vanderbilt.