Eric Charles Henderson (born January 8, 1983) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who is the co-defensive coordinator,

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

coach, and run game coordinator for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

(NCAA). He previously served as an assistant coach for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. Henderson played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2006 and played professionally for six seasons.

Playing career

College

While playing for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

, Henderson set a team career record with 59.5

tackles-for-loss The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

(TFL), and he ranks fourth in school history in sacks (25). He had a breakout sophomore season in 2003, starting all 13 games and earning first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors with 11 sacks and 24 TFL. He earned second-team All-ACC nods as both a junior and a senior. As a senior, he led the team with six sacks, despite missing four games with an ankle injury, and caused four

fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

on those sacks. He helped the Tech defense rank in the Top 25 nationally in seven categories in 2005, and he was a key performer as Tech upset No. 3

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, holding the Hurricanes to 30 yards rushing. In his first game back from his ankle injury in 2005, he played a key role in a 10–9 win over Clemson and was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the third time in his career. He played four seasons at Georgia Tech (2002–05), with a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

year in 2001.

National Football League

Pre-draft

Eric Henderson measured tall and weighed and bench-pressed 225 pound 30 times and ran a 4.73 forty-yard dash. He has a bench press and a vertical leap to his credit.

Cincinnati Bengals

Henderson missed seven games with injuries over his final two seasons at Georgia Tech, hurting his chances of being drafted, but he signed with the Bengals on May 9, 2006 as college free agent. He was waived on September 2, 2006 and then signed September 4 to the Bengals

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

where he spent the full season. Henderson played in all four preseason games in 2006, recording five total tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. Henderson did not earn an accrued year of experience toward NFL free agency in 2006 because he was not on an NFL 53-player roster, a Reserve/Injured list, or a Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list for the required minimum of six games. On January 2, 2007, he was signed to Bengals offseason roster. Henderson spent the first seven weeks of the 2008 season on the Bengals' practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on October 24 after fullback Reagan Maui'a was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. On December 10, Henderson was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a neck injury. He finished the 2008 season with two tackles in two games. The Bengals released Henderson on April 27, 2009.

United Football League

Las Vegas Locomotives

Following his NFL career, Henderson spent three seasons (2009–11) with the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

of the United Football League, helping the team win a pair of league championships.

Coaching career

Georgia Military College

In 2012, Henderson segued into coaching as a defensive assistant at

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a Public college, public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was ori ...

, where he worked with the outside linebackers and secondary. Henderson helped coach the Bulldogs to a 7–4 record and an appearance in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl.

Oklahoma State

In 2013, Henderson moved on to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, where he spent two seasons (2013–14) as a graduate assistant and a third (2015) as a defensive quality control coach. During his three years in Stillwater, the Cowboys went 27-12 and made three bowl appearances. Henderson helped tutor defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who earned All-America accolades; was named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, and was drafted in the second round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

(32nd overall) by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

UTSA

Henderson spent the 2016 season as the defensive line coach at Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners went 6-6 during the regular season before facing

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

Los Angeles Chargers

In 2017, Henderson was hired the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

to serve as their assistant defensive line coach under head coach Anthony Lynn. During his two seasons with the Chargers, he worked with

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

defensive ends

Joey Bosa Joseph Anthony Bosa (; born July 11, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected third overall b ...

and Melvin Ingram.

Los Angeles Rams

In 2019, Henderson was hired by the

to serve as their defensive line coach under head coach

Sean McVay Sean Patrick McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired ...

. In February 2021, Henderson was named run game coordinator while retaining his defensive line coaching duties. Henderson became a

Super Bowl champion The Super Bowl is the annual American football game that determines the champion of the National Football League (NFL). The game culminates a National Football League regular season, season that begins in the previous calendar year, and is the ...

when the Rams defeated the

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

USC

On January 15, 2024, it was announced that Henderson would join the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

staff under head coach Lincoln Riley. Henderson will hold the multiple responsibilities of co-defensive coordinator, run game coordinator, and defensive line coach.

Personal life

While at Georgia Tech, Henderson earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in management and is working toward a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in educational psychology. He is married with one daughter.

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams bio

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Eric 1983 births Living people Players of American football from New Orleans American football defensive ends American football linebackers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Cincinnati Bengals players Las Vegas Locomotives players Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches UTSA Roadrunners football coaches Los Angeles Chargers coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches