Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE M ike Mickens and Al Wash- ington were two of the catalysts behind Notre Dame's renaissance under head coach Marcus Freeman. Mickens, who coached corner- backs from 2020-23 and defensive backs from 2024-25, flipped the sec- ondary from a weakness in South Bend to a strength. He developed six NFL players during his time with the Irish and two others who could make the league in 2026. Five more — in- cluding Leonard Moore, who is con- sidered the best cornerback in col- lege football — have a strong chance to be drafted in 2027 and beyond. As defensive pass game coordi- nator, Mickens led the country's No. 1 pass efficiency defense in two straight seasons. Washington, meanwhile, was a fi- nalist for FootballScoop's Defensive Line Coach of the Year award in 2025. Despite a dreadful start, he willed his group to the top- ranked pass rush in the nation in terms of total regular-sea- son pressures with 285. Back in 2024, he cobbled together a productive defen- sive line despite sea- son-ending injuries to its three best pass rushers. Both longtime po- sition coaches also set Notre Dame up for success in the fu- ture, both making On3's Steve Wiltfong's list of the top 10 recruiters for the 2026 cycle. They signed three of the five five- star prospects in the country's No. 2 class. "Mickens did a fantastic job of quickly identifying the nation's best and build- ing a strong rapport with them," Wilt- fong wrote. "Washington helped Notre Dame recruit its best defensive line haul in recent memory." Mickens and Washington are both gone, becoming the final members of Freeman's original coaching staff to leave Notre Dame. The former will be the defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator with the Bal- timore Ravens, while the latter — after initially switching to linebackers coach with the Irish — will take the same posi- tion with the Miami Dolphins. A whopping 10 NFL teams fired their head coaches and hired new staffs, which meant the chances Notre Dame would lose its assistants was higher than normal. The dust seems to have settled, but two of the Irish's most valuable po- sition coaches have left the building. This is not abnormal, nor is it a sign of discord in the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. It's a fact of life as a success- ful football team with highly regarded, ambitious assistants. The best coaches consistently replace good coaches with more good coaches, and that's what Freeman had to do. And at first glance, it appears he did exactly that. Freeman hired Il- linois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry to coach defensive backs and ex-Michigan assistant Brian Jean- Mary to coach linebackers. With Henry and Jean-Mary, Free- man completed Notre Dame's in- voluntary overhaul of its defensive coaching staff, with second-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash at its center. HENRY DEVELOPED NATION'S BEST SECONDARY WITH ILLINOIS Before Notre Dame established itself as (arguably) college football's top secondary from 2023-25, Il- linois was the preeminent no-fly zone in the sport. Led by eventual top-five NFL Draft pick Devon Witherspoon at cornerback, the 2022 Fighting Il- lini were the No. 1 scoring defense nationally, allowing just 12.8 op- ponent points per game. They also led the FBS in inter- ceptions (24) and pass efficiency de- fense (92.64), while coming in second in opponent passing yards per attempt (5.4). H e n r y wa s I l - l i n o i s ' d e fe n s ive backs coach from 2021-22, creating a dominant second- ary. He won Foot- ballScoop's Defensive Backs Coach of the Year Award in 2022. On an indi- vidual level, he developed Witherspoon from a no-name recruit to an absolute demon who was on the short list for Su- per Bowl LX MVP for his performance in the Seattle Seahawks' 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots. Doug Bucshon, who covers the Fight- ing Illini for Orange and Blue News, credited Henry for much of Illinois' de- fensive surge. "He made an impact quickly at Il- linois, taking over a secondary that al- ready had a solid base from the Lovie Smith era but clearly took another step after his arrival," Bucshon told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "The defensive backs CHANGING OF THE GUARD Notre Dame revamped its defensive coaching staff, adding Aaron Henry and Brian Jean-Mary Henry was FootballScoop's Defensive Backs Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading an Illinois secondary that paced the country in interceptions (24) and in pass efficiency defense (92.64). PHOTO COURTESY ILLINOIS ATHLETICS