Meet the Coaches: Adam Henry, Co-Offensive Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach
Editor's Note: Indiana has five new football coaches this year. In our five-part ''Meet the Coaches'' series, we'll introduce you to all of them, and in our fourth installment, meet new co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Adam Henry.
After both of his parents passed away in the span of seven months, Adam Henry contemplated his future in coaching. He spent the previous two seasons coaching some of the best wide receivers in the NFL while on staff with the Dallas Cowboys, but thought it might be good to take some time off.
And then Tom Allen reached out to him. Henry heard positive things about Allen's character in the past, and since joining Allen's staff just over a month ago, he now sees that it's real.
"It's a family setting here [at Indiana]," Henry said. "It's just a great fit for me right now."
Henry is returning to the college game after spending the previous seven seasons in the NFL where he coached Pro Bowl pass catchers Odell Beckham Jr., Anquan Boldin, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Jarvis Landry, and Zach Miller. He first joined the NFL coaching ranks in 2015 as a wide receivers coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
After one season in San Francisco, Henry held the same role with the New York Giants where he reunited with Beckham, who Henry previously coached at LSU. In 2016, Beckham finished with a career-high 101 receptions, and Sterling Shepard finished second on the rookie receptions list with 65.
Henry then transitioned to the Cleveland Browns, where he reunited with Beckham and Landry, who Henry coached for two seasons at LSU. In 2019, Landry and Beckham both hauled in over 1,000 yards, becoming the first duo of Browns receivers to reach that milestone in the same season.
Upon joining the Dallas Cowboys staff in 2020, Henry coached a receiving corps that led the NFC in total receptions and placed third in yards. Cooper and Lamb each accomplished Pro Bowl status under Henry's guidance from 2020 to 2021.
Henry will coach college receivers this season for the first time since 2014, but his first coaching gig was with his alma mater McNeese State. Henry was inducted into the McNeese Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 for his career as a wide receiver that included all-conference honors, 93 receptions, 1,690 yards and 16 touchdowns. Then from 1997 to 2006 he was the wide receivers coach for McNeese State before being promoted to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in his final season.
Many times the receivers at McNeese State were high school quarterbacks or running backs who also played baseball and basketball, so Henry learned how to sculpt athletes into receivers. He taught these receivers how to be a pro on and off the field, while also being a technician of their craft. Henry also stressed the importance of imparting confidence, energy and enthusiasm into his group of receivers.
"Having that background and then going to the NFL and having success, for me to come back is just a beautiful thing," Henry said.
And so far at Indiana, Henry has taught his players about the necessity of being a conceptual learner. Henry said if a player gets hurt in the NFL, the next man up has to understand the concepts at both the inside and outside receiving positions. This is accomplished through preparation and repetition, which Henry said is the mother of all learning.
Henry will attempt to impart this kind of thinking into a receiving corps that has plenty of new faces in 2022. Last season tight end Peyton Hendershot led the Hoosiers in receiving yards, but wide receivers Ty Fryfogle and Miles Marshall are gone, too. Fryfogle entered the NFL Draft and Marshall transferred to Miami (Ohio), leaving Javon Swinton, who caught 15 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown as Indiana's top returning receiver.
Florida State transfer D.J. Matthews is coming back from an ACL tear, but showed electrifying speed in four games with Indiana last year. Indiana also added Emery Simmons from North Carolina and Cam Camper from Trinity Valley Community College through the transfer portal to bolster the receiving corps.
"I believe that this is a great program on the rise, and I am proud to be a part of it," Henry said. "The atmosphere is totally what I am looking for. I am excited to be here and ready to go to work."
Other 'Meet the Coaches' stories
- MEET PAUL RANDOLPH: Paul Randolph replaces Kevin Peoples as Indiana's defensive line coach, bringing 24 years of coaching experience that includes 17 bowl game appearances. Randolph's coaching philosophy is based around helping young men accomplish their dreams and immediately meshed with Tom Allen's coaching style. CLICK HERE
- MEET WALT BELL: There's been a lot of change to Indiana's football coaching staff this offseason, with five new faces now part of the daily teaching routine. In the first part of our ''Meet The Coaches'' series, meet Walt Bell, the Hoosiers' new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. CLICK HERE
- MEET CHAT WILT: Indiana's defense took a step back in 2021, but there's a new face in charge after Charlton Warren left for North Carolina, Tom Allen hired 21-year coaching veteran Chad Wilt, who most recently coached defensive linemen at Minnesota, to help him run the defense. CLICK HERE
