USC football Co-Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach Eric Henderson, known as one of the top recruiters in the country, will reportedly leave the Trojans to serve as the defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator for the Washington Commanders. The news was reported by multiple outlets Wednesday, including 247Sports.

In two seasons with USC, Henderson signed three five-star defensive linemen and was 247Sports’ No.1-ranked recruiting coach in the 2026 cycle. His 2026 crop was headlined by edge Luke Wafle and interior lineman Jaimeon Winfield, both of whom gained five-star status since December’s early signing period, further bolstering USC’s consensus No. 1 overall recruiting class. Wafle and Winfield are the No. 6 and 35 overall recruits in their class, per 247Sports’ rankings.

Henderson’s ability to connect with players was also on display when multiple young stars took to social media to support his bid for USC’s open defensive coordinator spot, after former DC D’Anton Lynn left for the same job at his alma mater, Penn State, in late December. Henderson also called USC’s defensive plays during its Alamo Bowl loss to TCU in place of Lynn.

The defensive coordinator role was given to TCU legend Gary Patterson on Jan. 23.

Freshmen defensive tackles Floyd Boucard and Jahkeem Stewart, the latter a 2025 five-star recruit, headlined the group supporting Henderson, but both will return to USC under Patterson. In his introductory news conference last week, Patterson mentioned Henderson by name when praising USC’s defensive coaching staff, but now the former Horned Frogs head coach will have to fill a major hole in the Trojan staff.

“Love you my dawg, go be great!” Stewart wrote in a post on X,. “We’ll see each other again soon. Just make sure that 1st round card have my name on it.”

Henderson replied to the post with simply, “#DAWGWORK.”

After Patterson emerged as USC’s top candidate for the job, Henderson’s name was speculated for multiple open positions, including defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys, which he reportedly interviewed for. Before that, Henderson’s name was reportedly in the mix for other collegiate openings, including defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Georgia Tech.

Henderson was the defensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams for five seasons, including the teams’ Super Bowl win in 2021. The Henderson-led unit, highlighted by future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, was among the best in the NFL throughout his tenure. The Rams’ rush defense was ranked No. 8 in 2023, his final season.

Henderson also spent time as an assistant defensive line coach for the Los Angeles Chargers and in defensive line roles at multiple colleges, including Oklahoma State and the University of Texas at San Antonio. He also played defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2006-08 after signing as an undrafted free agent.