Notre Dame Hires Aaron Henry as New Defensive Backs Coach

Henry is reportedly set to join the Notre Dame coaching staff from Illinois

Nov 22, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with players after scoring against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

According to a report from CBS Sports, Notre Dame is set to make a key addition to its coaching staff.

Aaron Henry of Illinois appears to be the next defensive backs coach for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish. Henry will also be the team's co-defensive coordinator according to the report.

This comes after one of the very best in the business, Mike Mickens, left Notre Dame to be a defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

Henry brings a strong recent history with him, having been the Illinois defensive coordinator the last three seasons. Over the past two seasons he has helped the Illini to win 19 games, a school record for wins in consecutive seasons.

Aaron Henry Reunites with Chris Ash

In hiring Henry, Notre Dame gets a bit of a reunited feel among its coaching staff. Henry rejoins defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who played for Ash in 2010 at Wisconsin. Henry also served as Ash's defensive backs coach at Rutgers in 2016 when Ash was head coach.

Ash came under scrutiny early in the 2025 season at Notre Dame, when the Irish struggled to an 0-2 start at Miami and then at home against Texas A&M. Notre Dame allowed 41 points in the loss to the Aggies, which was enough to keep it from the College Football Playoff despite winning its final 10 games last season.

Henry Inherits Star Defensive Backfield at Notre Dame

Notre Dame will enter the 2026 season with what should again be one of the best defensive backfields in all of college football.

Returning at one cornerback position will be junior Leonard Moore, who is as good as any at the position nationally. With him will be standout safeties Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson, who sure up the back end, while at the other corner and nickelback spots figures to be a mixture of veterans D. J. McKinney, who transferred in from Colorado, Christian Gray, who has several key interceptions to his name, or Dallas Golden, who took on the difficult task of playing nickel as a true freshman.

Notre Dame Schedule Glimpse

Notre Dame will continue to prepare for the 2026 season that gets underway on Labor Day weekend at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, as the Irish will play the Badgers in a Shamrock Series game. The home season opens the following Saturday against Rice.

Notre Dame gets what should be a favorable schedule in 2026 overall, as zero of its first eight opponents won more than four games last season.