After three years calling the defenses at Illinois, Aaron Henry has elected to leave Bret Bielema’s staff to join Notre Dame’s operation and work with another familiar face.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 1, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Aaron Henry has agreed to leave Bret Bielema’s Illinois coaching staff after calling the Illini’s defense for the past three seasons.

IlliniGuys.com can confirm Notre Dame has hired the Illinois defensive coordinator as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenitz was the first to report this news.

Henry will be replacing Mike Mickens, who left Notre Dame last weekend to to join incoming Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter’s first staff. Upon a recommendation from Chris Ash, who just finished his first season as the Fighting Irish defensive play-caller, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman worked quickly to reach out to Henry with an offer that includes the title of co-defensive coordinator. Henry accepted the offer Saturday after he had returned from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Henry has been the Illinois full-time defensive coordinator since being promoted by Bielema shortly before the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl when Ryan Walters left the Illini staff to take the Purdue head coach position. Henry was one of Bielema’s first assistant coach hires after accepting the job at Illinois in Dec. 2020 as Henry served as the Illini's defensive backs coach in 2021-22.

Henry has been associated with Bielema as a recruit, player and assistant coach for the majority of the last two decades. However, he’ll now reunite with Chris Ash, who was Henry’s defensive coordinator when Henry as a defensive back at Wisconsin and Bielema was the Badgers head coach. When Ash left Bielema’s staff to become the Rutgers head coach in 2016, Henry joined his staff as defensive backs coach.

This is Illinois’ first offensive or defensive coordinator change since Walters left after the 2022 season and Henry was promoted before the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl. In 2024, which was undoubatbly his best season calling the Illini defense, Illinois won 10 game and ranked 68th among 134 Football Bowl Subdvision programs in total defense by allowing 373.2 yards per game. However, Illinois  with 13th in the Big Ten Conference during the 2025 season by allowing 378.1 yards per game, 16th in passing defense at 247.4 pass yards per game and were second-worst in the league in third down defense with opponents converting nearly 45 percent of those opportunities.

IlliniGuys.com will have more on this development and the future of the defensive play-calling duties in the coming days.