Jerome

Henderson

Henderson lost out on the 49ers’ defensive coordinator vacancy to Robert Saleh. Entering his 11th year in coaching after spending eight years in the league as a safety, Henderson’s specialty is tutoring defensive backs. His return to Atlanta should be good news for the Falcons’ young, promising secondary.

47-year-old Henderson has been coaching defensive backs for the better part of the past decade. He’s never called plays on defense, but could be given that opportunity in San Francisco under offensive mind Kyle Shanahan.

Henderson previously interviewed for the Browns’ head coaching job but was passed over in favor of Hue Jackson. The Jags have been searching for a replacement for Bob Babich, who was fired after the season. Jim Schwartz interviewed with Jacksonville on Monday but isn’t an option anymore after accepting the Eagles’ defensive coordinator position.

The Browns have made two off-the-wall moves by giving ex-lawyer Sashi Brown control over the 53-man roster and hiring Paul DePodesta out of the MLB to be Brown’s right-hand man. They’re taking a full-on analytics approach, so they’ll leave no stone unturned. Henderson played eight years in the NFL as a second-round pick and has coached DBs for the Jets, Browns, and Cowboys the past nine seasons. He was in Cleveland from 2009-2011.

The Falcons are apparently open to replacing DC Richard Smith, though they’ve yet to fire or reassign him. Coach Dan Quinn is the overseer of the defense, but Smith’s unit was 16th in total defense, 18th against the pass, and 14th against the run. If we dive deeper, however, Atlanta gave up the most rushing touchdowns and recorded the fewest sacks. Quinn and Henderson worked together with the Jets.

Atlanta additionally announced DC Richard Smith will remain the defensive coordinator. Henderson is likely interviewing for the DBs coach job and possibly a promotion that comes with the assistant head coach title added to it.