Eric Henderson is entering his fourth season with the Los Angeles Rams, his second season as the defensive line/run game coordinator.
He joined the Rams after a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Chargers as an assistant defensive line coach.
In 2021 with the leadership of Henderson, the Rams defense ranked third in sacks with 50 and fifth in tackles for loss (85) during the regular season.
Henderson also helped the Rams' defense finish sixth in the NFL in opponents rushing yards per game (103.2), and fifth in yards per rush (3.96). The Rams' defense held opponents to a 51.8% red zone efficiency rate, which ranked eighth-best in the NFL.
Henderson's leadership has allowed perennial All-Pro defensive Tackle Aaron Donald to continue stacking his career accolades while also helping players such as Greg Gaines emerge as a steady contributor. Gaines had a career season in 2021 with 13 starts and 55 tackles, 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits and 34 pressures (including postseason).
Henderson also elevated the play of DT A'Shawn Robinson, who had a stellar performance in Super Bowl LVI with six tackles (five solo), 1.0 sack, one tackle for loss, three pressures and one quarterback hit. Robinson finished the 2021 regular season with 89 tackles (45 solo), three sacks, two forced fumbles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and 17 pressures.
In his second season with the Rams in 2020, L.A. finished second in the league in sacks (53.0), The defensive front helped the No. 1 ranked defense finish third in the league in rush defense, while giving up the fewest points per game (18.5), passing yards per game (190.7) and total yards per game (281.9).
In Henderson's first two years with the club, the Rams have ranked top-five in sacks back-to-back years.
Under Henderson's guidance, DL Aaron Donald became the third player in league history to win Defensive Player of the Year three times. He was also named the PFWA Defensive Player of the Year award for the second time. Donald finished the season with a team-high 13.5 sacks his fourth-straight season with at least 11.0 sacks.
In 2019, the defensive front powered its way to 50.0 sacks, the fourth-highest total in the league. The unit also featured a stellar season from Donald, who recorded double-digit sacks (12.5) for the third-consecutive season and earned Pro Bowl and First- Team All-Pro honors.
With the fundamentals implemented by Henderson along the defensive line in 2019, the Rams rushing defense allowed only 3.74 yards per rush, the sixth-best average in the league. The improvement marked a more than 1.0 yard per rush improvement from the 4.86 yards per rush allowed during the 2018 season, prior to Henderson's arrival.
In Henderson's second season coaching the Chargers defensive line, the defense finished with 38.0 total sacks and DE Melvin Ingram led the team with (7.0). Ingram was also one-of-seven Bolts to be selected for the 2019 Pro Bowl. It was also his second consecutive appearance.
During Henderson's first season with the Chargers in 2017 and his NFL coaching debut, the defense finished the season ranked fifth in the NFL in total sacks with 43.0. DE Joey Bosa ended the season with a career-high 12.5 sacks and was seventh in the league.
Henderson spent the 2016 season at the University of Texas - San Antonio where he was the defensive line coach. The Roadrunners went on to play in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl against New Mexico. Henderson coached Marcus Davenport, who recorded 6.5 sacks during the 2016 season. Davenport went on to be selected No. 14 overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 2018 NFL Draft, the highest Roadrunner ever drafted and only the second draft choice ever from UTSA.
Prior to joining the Roadrunners, Henderson spent three seasons at Oklahoma State from 2013-15. He was named defensive quality control coach during his third season after being a graduate assistant from 2013-14. During the three seasons at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys had a 27-12 record and made three bowl appearances. DE Emmanuel Ogbah earned All-America accolades and was named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 with Henderson's guidance. Ogbah was also taken in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
Henderson made his coaching debut in 2012 as a defensive assistant at Georgia Military College, where he primarily worked alongside the linebackers and secondary. The Bulldogs finished with a 7-4 record and made an appearance in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl.
Prior to becoming a coach, Henderson played three seasons (2009-11) for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League, guiding the team to two league titles. Henderson spent three seasons (2006-08) playing in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals.
As a collegiate athlete, Henderson set a school record at Georgia Tech for career tackles for loss (59.5). He ranks fourth in school history in career sacks with 25.0. Henderson finished with 175 tackles, eight passes defensed and seven forced fumbles.
Henderson is a native of New Orleans, La. and earned a bachelor's degree in management from Georgia Tech and is working toward a master's degree in educational psychology. He and his wife, Shanea, got married in 2021.
