The Washington Commanders fill its first staff vacancy on the defensive side of the ball under new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones
After the Washington Commanders made their defensive coordinator hire official last week, new coordinator Daronte Jones has filled his first coaching position on his staff.
The Commanders are expected to hire Eric Henderson as its new defensive line coach, per multiple reports. Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports was first to report the news.
This will mark the third coaching opportunity in the NFL for Dickerson, who joins the organization after two years as the co-defensive coordinator, run game coordinator and defensive line coach. He joined the Trojans staff under head coach Lincoln Riley after previously spending four seasons in the NFL.
Henderson also served as USC's defensive coordinator in the 30-27 overtime loss vs. TCU in the Alamo Bowl. He joins the organization in Darryl Tapp's initial role, a former player with the organization who served in the same position with Washington since the start of the Dan Quinn era. Tapp is also expected to remain as assistant defensive line coach in 2026.
While the news of a hire from the college ranks may raise an eyebrow from Commanders fans given the lack of experience from much of the hires, Henderson also drew interest from the Dallas Cowboys for the same position this offseason.
Henderson first joined the NFL coaching ranks in 2017 when he served as the assistant defensive line coach with the Los Angeles Chargers for two seasons before moving onto a defensive line coach role with the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons beginning in 2019. Lynn overlapped with Anthony Lynn, current Commanders run game coordinator and then-head coach who also materialized into a candidate for a pair of teams this offseason, during his time with the Chargers before being part of the Rams staff that won Super Bowl LVI to end the 2021 season. He was then elevated to run game coordinator in 2023.
Henderson began his coaching career in 2012 at Georgia Military College where he worked with both the outside linebackers and secondary, guiding the program to a 7-4 finish and bowl appearance in his lone season with the program. He moved onto Oklahoma State the following season where he served as a graduate assistant for two years before being elevated into a defensive quality control role, working with former All-American and first round pick Emmanuel Ogbah. He then spent one season at UTSA in 2016 before moving onto the NFL.
He also joins the staff with NFL experience after a player spending three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals after becoming an undrafted free agent following the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent the bulk of his time injured after playing in only a handful of games and being waived following a season-ending neck injury. He ended his playing career with three seasons with the Las Vegas Locomotives in the UFL before transitioning to coaching.
Henderson joins Daronte Jones on the defensive side of the ball with the expectation that Washington hires a front seven specialist with the pass rush a continued focus this offseason.
Washington has also previously hired DJ Williams and Danny Etling joining as quarterbacks and assistant quarterbacks coach, while the team made a pair of internal moves to fill the offensive line and assistant offensive line coaching positions in 2026.