CHAMPAIGN — Notre Dame is expected to hire Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, CBS Sports Matt Zenitz reports.
Henry has been the full-time defensive coordinator since the beginning of the 2023 season and was also the defensive coordinator in the ReliaQuest Bowl to end the 2022 season. He served as the Illini’s defensive backs coach in 2021-22, helping develop Devon Witherspoon into the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But Henry’s defense had struggled for the majority of the last three seasons. After Ryan Walters left to be the head coach at Purdue, Henry was elevated to defensive coordinator. But after Witherspoon and fellow top-66 picks Quan Martin and Sydney Brown graduated to the NFL, Illinois dipped from the No. 1 scoring defense in 2022 (12.8 points) to the No. 93 scoring defense (24.5) in 2023.
The defense took a step forward in 2024, helping Illinois win 10 games and win the Citrus Bowl by allowing just 21.7 points per game. But the Illini have taken a significant step backward this season despite returning a majority of starters, allowing 28.6 points during conference play.
Two losses stuck out the most. In a 42-25 loss to Washington, Illinois allowed six touchdowns on the Huskies’ first seven drives, allowed 449 yards of total offense and allowed the Huskies to go 9-of-12 on third down. In a loss to Wisconsin, Illinois allowed two 80+ yard touchdown drives to a Badgers team that during its first seven Big Ten games had averaged 6.7 points and had just four touchdown drives of 75+ yards.
Why it matters: This is Illinois’ first coordinator change since Ryan Walters left after the 2022 season and Henry was promoted, and Illinois now has three assistant spots to fill, following the departures of Henry, special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Robby Discher and running backs coach Thad Ward. Illinois is coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons and the defense played well for the most part in the Music City Bowl win over Tennessee, but head coach Bret Bielema has urgency with maintaining the success of his program and Henry taking a demotion elsewhere calls into question whether Bielema wanted a new voice calling his defense. The Illini defense simply didn’t produce enough. Illinois in Big Ten play allowed an average of 378.1 yards per game (13th Big Ten), 247.4 pass yards per game (16th Big Ten), 140.7 rush yards per game (9th Big Ten). Against Big Ten opponents, Illinois allowed opponents to convert on third down 48.8% of the time, the third-worst mark in the Big Ten.
What it means: This is a big change but potentially a needed one — though a change could be difficult for Bielema, given his long personal relationship with Henry, who played for him at Wisconsin. But Henry’s three years as defensive coordinator were disappointing, and Bielema clearly must find an upgrade to push his program forward. But Bielema has a lot of work to do with building up his staff after losing a coordinator and two respected assistants.