Who Is Notre Dame’s Aaron Henry? Life, Family & Career of New Co-DC Joining from Illinois

Aaron Henry is one of college football’s finest defensive minds, with over a decade of coaching experience. He’s been an integral part of Illinois defense for the last six seasons, known for developing young defensive stars. While his time at Illinois makes a mark, the coach’s new chapter unfolds at South Bend.

Henry is expected to head to Notre Dame as co-DC and DBs coach, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Before the coach’s transition takes place from being Illinois DC to Notre Dame’s Co-DC, let’s take a look at his personal and professional career.

Football Who is Aaron Henry?

Aaron Henry is a Florida native, born on November 28, 1988, in Immokalee, Collier County. His football career started at Immokalee High School, where he played on both sides of the ball, as a wide receiver and as a defensive back. He also excelled in basketball and was honored as an all-state football player and as an all-county basketball player.

His relationship with Bret Bielema, head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, began way early, during his collegiate career at Wisconsin, where he played under him. He played there from 2007 to 2011 before joining the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2012. However, his playing career was cut short before the NFL season. 

“Coach B’s a significant part of my story and my journey because I remember when he offered me a job,” Aaron said.

He returned to Bielema but to Arkansas to start his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant, spending two seasons there. In 2016, he had his first full-time coaching role at Rutgers, becoming the DBs coach. He had multiple stops at NC State as safeties coach and Vanderbilt as CBs coach, and got back to Bret Bielema at Illinois in 2021. Started as a DBs coach, he was promoted as DC in 2023 for the Fighting Illini.

In the last two seasons under Henry, Illinois won 19 games, the most ever in the program’s history in two years. He was the winningest DC in the program’s history, and the Fighting Illini had to let him go to the Fighting Irish for the 2026 season.

Football Who is Aaron Henry’s wife, Camille?

Aaron Henry married his longtime girlfriend, Camille, in January 2022. Their love story began during their time at Wisconsin. Camille is a school psychologist who works with kids and young adults across various backgrounds. While their jobs sound opposite, Mr. & Mrs. Henry both strive to help young people.

“I want the kids, the student-athletes, to know that even if you don’t feel like going to him if something’s going wrong, I want them to know they can come to me,” Camille said.

Camille has always been a supportive partner, which helped Aaron be more than just a coach, but develop a strong bond with the younger minds. They often invite players and families over to their house to create bonds outside the football facility. Aaron believes that the connections break barriers and change others’ lives.

“Opening up our home and having them over, we get more joy out of that than they probably do,” Aaron said.

Football Aaron Henry’s twin daughters

Henry and his wife, Camille, welcomed twin daughters, Harlow Madison and Dakota Savoy, to the world in 2023. Their middle names, Madison and Henry, are kept with a purpose. Madison was the place where Aaron and Camille met, while Savoy is where they currently live. The couple balances the fun of raising their twin girls and their hectic full-time jobs.

“I think the cool thing is football’s easy,” Henry told the Illini Inquirer. “I’m sitting there trying to properly feed them, making sure I’m not holding them the wrong way. It’s just hard. My first night, they bring them in the room, and my wife is like, ‘Make sure they’re breathing.’ We got two little humans to make sure they’re going to live. Calling defense is going to be a piece of cake.”

Henry, with his supportive partner and their two kids, will head to South Bend and will now look to shape the young minds there at Notre Dame.