Tag: Eric Henderson

Lincoln Riley and USC hire former LA Rams assistant Eric Henderson as co-defensive coordinator

Lincoln Riley heard your criticisms, USC fans. He continues to build out an elite defensive coaching staff.

Is Lincoln Riley serious about defense at USC? He continues to repent of his sins and show that he has gotten the message from Trojan fans and the rest of the college football community. Riley has heard all the criticisms. He felt the sting of the 7-5 regular season in 2023. His USC team looked renewed and reborn in the 2023 Holiday Bowl against Louisville, but he knew he had to continue building a strong defensive staff if this team was to change in a big way and reach its potential in 2024, the first year for USC in the Big Ten Conference.

Riley heard you. Riley got the message. He has hired former Los Angeles Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson as co-defensive coordinator, as reported by Connor Morrissette of 247Sports.

What do you need to know about Henderson and this hire? Let’s take a quick look:

USC hiring Rams DL coach Eric Henderson to be co-defensive coordinator

Eric Henderson has been hired by USC to be their co-defensive coordinator and D-line coach, a big loss for the Rams

The Los Angeles Rams aren’t even a full day into the offseason and they’re already losing a key member of their coaching staff. The USC Trojans have hired Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson to join Lincoln Riley’s staff.

Henderson will have the titles of co-defensive coordinator, run game coordinator and defensive line coach.

This is a significant loss for the Rams, given the impact Henderson has had on the defense for the last five years. He joined Los Angeles in 2019 as the defensive line coach before adding run game coordinator to his title in 2021, which he held for the last three years.

Aaron Donald has raved about Coach Henderson during his tenure with the Rams, always praising the job he does with Los Angeles’ defensive linemen. This is a great hire by the Trojans but a sizable loss for the Rams.

6 candidates to be the Jaguars’ next defensive coordinator

There are a few intriguing names who could get a call about the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator vacancy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are starting over on defense. On Monday, the team fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and just about every other defensive coach on the team’s staff.

As the team begins its hunt for a new face to lead the way, there’s plenty of reason to believe it’ll be a relatively attractive opening for coaching candidates.

For one, no pass rushing tandem finished with more sacks than the 27.5 that Josh Allen and Travon Walker combined for in 2023. While Allen, who led the way with 17.5 sacks, is scheduled to became a free agent, it’d be a surprise if the Jaguars didn’t use the franchise tag, at the very least, to keep him on the roster.

After that, it largely depends on what you think of young players like cornerback Tyson Campbell, safety Andre Cisco, and linebacker Devin Lloyd who have all shown great things at times, but have struggled with consistency early in their careers.

Here are six coaches who could draw the Jaguars’ eye as they try to fill their defensive coordinator void and turn their young defense into one of the NFL’s best units:

Rams DL coach says Defensive Rookie of the Year is ‘so rigged for 1st-rounders’

Rams DL coach Eric Henderson is pounding the table for Kobie Turner to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he says “it’s not close”

No one is pounding the table for Kobie Turner to win Defensive Rookie of the Year more than Rams D-line coach Eric Henderson. He’s had a front-row seat for Turner’s development and flat-out dominance as a rookie this year, watching the stud defensive tackle rack up nine sacks (tied for the most ever by a rookie DT), eight tackles for a loss and 15 quarterback hits.

Despite Turner’s eye-popping numbers, he wasn’t even among the favorites to win Defensive Rookie of the Year until the books adjusted on Wednesday and listed him with the third-best odds behind Jalen Carter and Will Anderson Jr.

Henderson caught wind of the updated odds and he shared his unfiltered opinion, calling the award “so rigged for 1st rounders to win.” He says Turner is being penalized for being drafted in the third round and “can’t stand it.”

Peter Schrager of NFL Network is aboard the “Turner for Defensive Rookie of the Year” train, too. Henderson replied to Schrager’s argument in favor of Turner winning the award, and he said again, “it’s not close.”

Add Andrew Whitworth to Turner’s corner, as well. He wants everyone to show Turner some respect during this remarkable season.

Henderson replied to Whitworth’s tweet and said Turner is “better than the majority of the league for an interior guy, let alone this year’s rookie group.

The guy Turner tied for the most sacks in a season by a rookie defensive tackle, Aaron Donald, also wants to see The Conductor win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

If Turner doesn’t win Defensive Rookie of the Year, Henderson might run on stage at the NFL Honors show in February and let everyone know who should’ve taken home the hardware.

Rams assistants Eric Henderson, Greg Olson generating interest from teams

Eric Henderson is generating interest as a potential DC, while Greg Olson could get another look as an OC

There could be a shakeup coming on the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff this offseason, even with Sean McVay returning. We already know Liam Coen is gone and the Rams will need to find a new offensive coordinator, but further changes could happen, too – and perhaps not by choice.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, defensive line coach Eric Henderson is generating interest as a potential defensive coordinator. Senior offensive assistant Greg Olson is also a potential candidate to be hired as an offensive coordinator again, a role he held previously with the Raiders.

Raheem Morris is obviously a head coaching candidate, too, having landed two interviews with the Broncos and Colts.

Thomas Brown, who’s currently the Rams’ tight ends coach and assistant head coach, is another candidate to leave for a bigger opportunity. He’ll interview with the Texans for their head coaching role; his departure would be a big loss for the Rams.

Further changes could be on the horizon, as well, if McVay wants to shake things up after a disastrous 5-12 season in 2022.

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Rams DL coach Eric Henderson wants to start fresh after Super Bowl win

Rams DL coach Eric Henderson says he wants to use this offseason to “start completely over” after the team’s Super Bowl run

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Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson has established a culture within his position group that has yielded a ton of success and production, from Aaron Donald down to Greg Gaines. He and his players have lived by their “DAWG Work” mantra, emphasizing the benefits of working hard and utilizing proper technique and fundamentals.

As accomplished as the Rams look heading into 2022 as the defending Super Bowl champions, Henderson wants to use the offseason to “start completely over,” not using any of last season’s success to assume the Rams will accomplish the same goals this year.

“I’m hoping to utilize this offseason to be able to just start completely over,” Henderson said in a video feature by the Rams. “You never want to assume that guys remembered anything, although for us, we were the last team to be done, which makes your offseason a lot shorter than most teams. You would think that some guys would have remembered some of the things you just did a couple months ago, but you can’t ever assume that, so you want to be able to break down the offseason and completely start from ground zero, assuming that no one knows anything. I don’t expect you to remember anything. My job as a coach is to completely build you back up again, whether that be technique, whether that be playbook. Talk about base fundamentals. All of the things that are important to us having success and playing how we want to play, and then also realtering your attitude toward what we’re trying to get done.”

The defensive line will move forward without Sebastian Joseph-Day in that group, and Von Miller is also gone. But it’s still a strong collection of players up front, with Donald, Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson leading the way.

The D-line was a strength last season, and Henderson hopes that’s the case again in 2022.

Watch: Rams DL coach Eric Henderson delivers powerful speech at South Carolina

Rams DL coach Eric Henderson was a guest speaker at South Carolina and delivered a great speech to the football team

Eric Henderson has received consistent praise from Sean McVay throughout his tenure with the Los Angeles Rams. The defensive line coach is one of the most important members of the coaching staff, and not just because he works closely with Aaron Donald.

Henderson is a terrific motivator and leader in the defensive line room. He showed that side of his personality during a trip to the University of South Carolina, where he gave a moving speech to the football team.

“We talk to our guys all the time about (how) we compete with our schemes, but we win with our people,” he said. “The star of the team is the team. Period. Got a lot of individual stars, but the star of the team is the team. If you can take that concept and apply it to your situation that you have here, something special, I truly believe that South Carolina is going to be the team this year.”

Henderson revealed how difficult his path to where he is today has been. He suffered many losses in his family growing up, and with two younger siblings, he had to keep pushing forward to show them the way.

“Lost my mom when I was 9 years old. She had cancer,” he said. “Never met my daddy a day in my life. Lived with my grandmother. I’m the oldest, got a younger brother and younger sister. My grandmother passed away my senior year of high school right before I went to Georgia Tech. So my Aunt Tida was living in the house with us. She was the household, whatever. Go to Georgia Tech, freshman year, Aunt T passed away. I’m in school at Georgia Tech felt like with nobody. I’m the oldest, younger brother, younger sister. They were important to me because if I sank, there’s no hope for them in my mind.”

Henderson was named the NFL’s Defensive Line Coach of the Year last season, continuing his ascent as one of the best assistant coaches in football. He had to overcome a lot throughout his life, but he’s remained dedicated and persistent every step of the way.

His message to the Gamecocks football team is one everyone should hear because it applies in all facets of life.

Rams’ Eric Henderson wins NFL Defensive Line Coach of the Year

Eric Henderson was named the NFL Defensive Line Coach of the Year, being recognized for his outstanding work in 2021

There’s a strong case to be made that the Los Angeles Rams had the best defensive line in football this past season. They had the highest pass-rush win rate in the NFL, also ranking first in run-stop win rate, according to ESPN.

Aaron Donald and the players get most of the attention, but defensive line coach Eric Henderson deserves a ton of credit for the job he’s done with that group. He was recognized by the NFL this week, winning the league’s Defensive Line Coach of the Year award while attending the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

He gave credit to Marcus Dixon, who was the Rams’ assistant defensive line coach and current defensive line coach for the Broncos, saying they accomplished it together.

After Cooper Kupp was named Offensive Player of the Year and Andrew Whitworth won Walter Payton Man of the Year, it was a season full of accolades for the Rams – with their biggest achievement being Super Bowl champions.

Watch: Rams DL coach Eric Henderson was mic’d up during practice

The Rams shared a glimpse at Eric Henderson’s coaching style with a mic’d-up video.

The Rams have a lot of great personalities on both the roster and coaching staff, led by an outstanding head man in Sean McVay. The leader of the defensive line is coach Eric Henderson, someone the players respond extremely well to.

This is his third year with the Rams and given the way the defensive front has played under his tutelage, it’s easy to see why McVay is so high on him.

Henderson was mic’d up during a training camp practice this week and his energy is infectious. It’s also a peek behind the curtain of his coaching style, showing what he teaches the Rams’ big men up front.

In the video, Henderson put the defensive line through hard-count drills where he mimicked a quarterback’s hard count, trying to get the defenders to jump. They did well in that drill, showing good get-off and discipline.

The best part might’ve been Henderson doing a grab-and-pull drill with Aaron Donald, who’s simply the best in the game. He made that rep look easy.