The goal of becoming a head football coach in the Southland Conference was becoming more attainable for Adam Henry in 2006 when he was promoted to offensive coordinator at McNeese State. After he spent a decade at his alma mater, the college game was what he knew, what he loved and what he felt was his life’s work.
One phone call changed the plan.
Henry’s multitasking at McNeese included serving as the NFL liaison. If a team wanted to set up an on-campus workout or seek background information on a prospect, Henry was the point person. One day, he picked up a call from new Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin.
McNeese State had several players generating interest and Henry believed Kiffin was interested in them.
“No, I’m calling for you,” Kiffin said.
“What?” Henry replied, semi-flabbergasted, semi-flustered.
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Days later, Henry drove from Lake Charles, La., to Baton Rouge to meet with Kiffin, who was on the LSU campus to work out quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Henry was hired as an offensive quality control coach, starting an NFL journey to Oakland, San Francisco, the New York Giants, Cleveland, Dallas and now the Bills as a wide receivers coach.
Henry, 51, brings 26 years of pro and college coaching experience to a Bills receiver room that will be on the spot this year. Stefon Diggs is the no-doubt No. 1, but Gabe Davis is in a contract season, Khalil Shakir is emerging but inexperienced and veterans Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty are new to the system.
Khalil Shakir has acquired the most valuable trait that a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills can possess. “I have a lot of trust in him,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “I think he’s only going to continue to grow in his role.”
The Bills allowed Chad Hall to leave for Jacksonville after last season. Henry interviewed in mid-February and was hired after spending last year at Indiana. The Bills believe Henry’s personal coaching experience and getting the top play out of receivers such as Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper, just to name four, will have an instant impact.
Those who know Henry think he is the perfect fit.
“He is so organized and has a really good attention to detail, but the most outstanding thing about him is that his relationships with his players are tremendous,” said Craig Johnson, who worked on the same staff with Henry at Indiana. “He gets to know each player individually, gets to know what they’re strong at, what they need to work on and he gets to the point where he can push that button to get them to be the best they can be.”
Youngest of eight kids
Frank and Mildred Henry of Beaumont, Texas, had eight children in a span of 11 years (now ranging in age from 51 to 62): John, Frank Jr., Paul, Eugenia, David, Herbert, Patrick and Adam. They lived in a three-bedroom house, Mildred a stay-at-home wife and mother, and Frank, who grew up speaking Creole until learning English as a preteen, working jobs as a welder, apartment complex maintenance man and barbeque pit maker.
Ma and Pa Henry instilled several values, but the tent poles were education and athletics. The Henry kids attended private school until college and if a scoreboard was involved, they participated.
“Definitely a lot of fun and definitely a lot of athletic contests,” David Henry said in a phone interview. “Never a dull moment.”
Decades later, Adam is still amazed how, within the crowded-house environment, both parents carved out quality time with each child.
Think about it: When Adam was born in April 1972, Frank and Mildred had eight kids in the house … all younger than 12.
“You’re not in a big house and you have all these personalities and my mother was brilliant and she was invested in having personal time with each child and reaching them,” Adam said after a Bills practice last week. “I was the youngest so I always watched that and now I do the same with my players.”
Adam attended Monsignor Kelly Catholic in Beaumont (he was coached as a freshman by David) and was football teammates with Herbert and Patrick.
“Adam bloomed a little late and sometimes, he wasn’t the tallest player,” said David Henry. “But just his tenacity – you weren’t going to outwork Adam.”
Henry played at McNeese State from 1990-93, catching 93 passes for 1,690 yards (both school records at the time) and 16 touchdowns and was inducted to the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. He spent parts of three seasons with the New Orleans Saints (1994-96) but did not appear in a regular season game. He returned to McNeese in ’97 to start his coaching career.
While coaching at McNeese State, Henry did an internship with the Cleveland Browns in 2003. The Browns’ offensive coordinator was Bruce Arians and their quarterback coach was Carl Smith, both of whom were on the New Orleans’ staff when Henry tried to make it as a player.
Arians/Smith: “Do you like the NFL?”
Henry: “Yeah, I do, but I’m going back to McNeese.”
Last week, Henry said: “Back then, we had a very good program and we were winning a lot of games so I just wanted to give back to the university that gave a lot to me. A lot of our coaches were getting jobs and I was the next one.”
Kiffin’s call changed Henry’s plan.
Coaching Beckham, Landry
Henry was the Raiders’ quality control coach in 2007-08, primarily working with tight ends coach Kelly Skipper, who was also making his NFL debut.
“He was my wingman,” said Skipper, now the Bills’ running backs coach. “We would bounce things off each other. His background was coaching receivers and I had a running back background so we merged them together at tight end. We were detailed in the run game and pass game and that worked out well. I believe we learned a lot from each other.”
Skipper moved to running backs coach in 2009, allowing Henry to move up to tight ends coach, expanding his knowledge because he was responsible for drawing pass protections for the first time.
Just as Arians and Smith were major influences in Cleveland, Henry cites then-Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Knapp as a mentor. Knapp coached 27 years in the NFL until his July 2021 death after he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle.
“He really groomed me during the whole process,” Henry said. “He was meticulous in his presentations and he would comb through everything I was going to present to the team.”
The Raiders changed coaches from Hue Jackson to Dennis Allen after the 2011 season and Henry wasn’t unemployed for long, his work with tight end Zach Miller noticed around the league.
Henry traveled to Buffalo to interview with Bills coach Chan Gailey, but left town without a contract offer to meet with LSU coach Les Miles. Henry weighed offers from Gailey and Miles and chose a return to college so he could return to coaching receivers.
Enter Henry’s first tour coaching Beckham and Landry.
In 2013, Landry (1,193) and Beckham (1,152) became the first LSU duo to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, also combining for 136 catches and 18 touchdowns.
Henry returned to the NFL in 2015 with San Francisco, coaching veterans Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith before moving to the Giants (two more years with Beckham), Browns (Beckham/Landry) and Cowboys (Lamb/Cooper).
At each stop, Henry worked tirelessly to first create a personal bond with his receivers before diving into the football work.
Aiding the approach would be his upbringing and comparing a receiver’s personality to one of his brothers. Beckham reminds him of Herbert, Smith of Patrick, and Boldin of David. Coaching NFL players in general, and NFL receivers in particular, is a people business.
“The old saying is, ‘Get to know the man before you coach the man,’ and Adam does a great job of connecting with his players,” said Rob Davis, who was on the Cowboys staff with Henry in 2021. “He has a smooth personality about him, always has a smile on his face and he knows his stuff. The players respond to him, they respect him and he quickly becomes a mentor to them.”
’The whole package’
Henry’s best team season – Dallas went 12-5 in ’21 to win the NFC East – was also his worst season. Mildred died in June 2021 at age 82 after 61 years of marriage to Frank Sr.; they had 15 grandchildren.
“I bury her and go to training camp,” Adam said.
Less than two weeks after the Cowboys lost their first-round playoff game to San Francisco, Frank Sr. passed away at age 84.
“It was like he was waiting on me to get home,” Adam said.
Henry and Davis, now the Green Bay Packers’ director of organizational development, grew close while working for the Cowboys.
“To see him go through that with his mom and consequently his dad was just hard,” Davis said. “I’m sure it was a challenge, but he never brought it to work. He wasn’t, ‘Woe is me.’”
To honor their parents, the Henry kids created the Henry Foundation and opened a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab at Monsignor Kelly Catholic.
Henry opted to leave the Cowboys' staff instead of signing a new contract and he planned to take the year off from coaching to spend time with his wife, Zita (a dentist), and their three kids – Darian (now 26), Kynidee (21) and Ava (16).
But in March 2022, Indiana coach Tom Allen was looking for a receivers coach after Grant Heard left for Central Florida and called Henry, who joined the Hoosiers.
Henry was reunited with Johnson, who was on the same staff with the Giants. During the Hoosiers’ season, Johnson’s office was next door to Henry.
“Players liked to go and hang out in his room,” Johnson said. “They weren’t afraid to sit down and talk about whatever life lessons he emphasized. It wasn’t necessarily how to run a ‘go’ route. The Buffalo players are going to see the same thing.”
Why, exactly, is he not here? Is it because he truly is unhappy with something in the organization? Only Diggs knows the answers to those questions at the moment.
Henry was in Arizona for the Super Bowl and visiting Beckham when the Bills called about an interview. Henry didn’t know General Manager Brandon Beane or coach Sean McDermott. Upon his hiring was Henry’s proven method – get to know the Bills’ receivers before digging into how they run a route.
“Coach Henry took the time to have meetings with us, just to get to know us,” Shakir said. “Getting to know him and talking to him, I wouldn’t say the transition has been hard at all. … He’s an awesome dude (and) awesome coach. He knows what he’s talking about so every single day that we go out there, we’re listening to him and taking every bit of advice we get from him to make sure we’re doing everything the right way.”
Diggs has been a no-show for the Bills’ offseason program, but Henry is confident a quick rapport can be achieved.
“Just be myself,” Henry said. “I’ve never had an issue with a player. For me, it’s get to know (Diggs) as a person and know I’m here for him on and off the field. It’s about the whole person. Everybody says, ‘Players like you.’ Well, I invest the time to get to know them.”
Beckham and Landry. Boldin and Smith. Lamb and Cooper. They all profited from that investment. Now the opportunity is at hand for Davis and Shakir, Sherfield and Harty and, when he gets here, Diggs.
“Adam is the whole package,” Johnson said. “Buffalo will find that out for sure.”