Commanders land massive coaching hire with impressive track record to fix biggest weakness
The Commanders finally hired a new defensive line coach in Eric Henderson, who has a track record of success stopping the run and is a favorite of Aaron Donald.
The Washington Commanders needed to make changes when the season ended, and that started with the coaching staff.
Their search for a new defensive coordinator took longer than expected, but they hit a home run in landing Daronte Jones from the Minnesota Vikings. Now, he had to finish filling out his supporting staff and get to work.
Jones cleaned house on defense after letting go of defensive line coaches Ryan Kerrigan and Sharrif Floyd, and he needed to find his own guys. They swung big and landed the best hire possible.
Commanders hire Eric Henderson as new defensive line coach
The Commanders were linked to Marcus Dixon, who was the defensive line coach on the Vikings when Jones was there, but he joined the Dallas Cowboys instead. We didn’t know where the hire would come from or if it would be a familiar hire, but instead, they just went and got the top guy on the market.
Jones is bringing in Eric Henderson as the new defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator. Henderson has a proven track record with the Los Angeles Rams for five years with Aaron Donald, and most recently in college with the USC Trojans. The Rams had a top run defense under Henderson, and the Commanders allowed the third-most rushing yards per game in 2025.
Aaron Donald loved Eric Henderson as his coach
Anytime you have arguably one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time endorsing you as a coach, you’re doing something right, and I will listen. Donald was asked about Henderson while he was still with the Rams, and he gave him a raving review.
“I got a real good, close relationship with coach Henny,” Donald said. “A lot of love and respect for him as a person, as a coach. I think he was able to teach me, and he’s still teaching me a lot of things. You know, one of my regimens I do every week is I sit down, and I talk to Henny about, you know, different schemes and different things that I can do to play better. And we’ve been like that for the past couple of years, you know.”
“So, we just over time, we just grew a close relationship, you know, I think he’s a great young coach, if not the best, one of the top defensive line coaches in the National Football League. Just from the things he’s able to teach young guys, teach veteran guys, from technique things, to be able to put us in certain positions, to try to have success. So he’s a guy that’s always working, always trying to find a way, never satisfied. And you know, that’s one thing that, you know, we kind of got the same mindset towards a lot of things. So it’s a lot of love and respect for coach.”
Eric Henderson has to fix the defensive line
One of Henderson’s top tasks will be tapping into Johnny Newton’s potential and developing his game to hit the ceiling that he’s capable of. Not just as a pass rusher, but as a run stopper as well. He also needs to get the most out of Javon Kinlaw and Daron Payne, who disappeared way too often last year.
From what I understand, Henderson will be a high-energy coach who aligns with the locker room’s preferences, making him a perfect culture fit. Players rave about Henderson, and he was actually a top recruiter in the country while serving as the Trojans’ co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, and defensive run game coordinator.
The Commanders needed to make a big hire, and they definitely shocked me by bringing one of the best defensive line coaches back to the NFL.
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