It took a long time for the universe to align but in 2022, Demarcus Ayers and Adam Henry were on the same side. Coaching together at Indiana University, Henry\u2019s job was to develop the Hoosiers\u2019 receivers. Unintentionally, he gave Ayers a PHD-level course in how to be a great coach.<\/p>\n
Now, Henry lands in Pittsburgh, where Ayers once played. Inheriting an eventual new-look receiver room that will be counted on to make more plays in 2026 than it did in 2025, Henry\u2019s role is vital. Ayers is confident Mike McCarthy made the right hire.<\/p>\n
\u201cA real down-to-earth guy, a guy that\u2019s relatable,\u201d Ayers told me in an interview earlier this week. \u201cI think he gets the best out of his players because of how much he pours into them. He allows you to be yourself. He\u2019s really gonna critique your game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry becomes one of the most experienced coaches on Pittsburgh\u2019s 2026 staff. Though not \u201cold\u201d at 53, he\u2019s been coaching receivers since 1997 after playing the position himself at McNeese State, where he earned a spot in the school\u2019s Hall of Fame.<\/a> He broke into the NFL in 2007 and save for a three-year stint at LSU where he coached Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry and his year at Indiana, he\u2019s been in the big leagues since.<\/p>\n Henry followed Beckham to the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns and worked with Amari Cooper in Dallas under McCarthy. An impressive resume of players he\u2019s developed, though he\u2019ll be the last to brag.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember walking in the first couple meetings,\u201d Ayers says. \u201cI\u2019m just being humble, trying to soak it up and learn from a guy that\u2019s coached Odell, Jarvis, Amari Cooper. All these guys. And I\u2019m just amazed on how humble he was and just the type of person he was. His approach to things was as if he just got in the game and he was still hungry trying to get everybody to respect and know what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayers never played under Henry. But their paths crossed on as Ayers hit tryout circuit in New York and Cleveland. After his playing days, Ayers spent time coaching in high school before spending 2021 at New Mexico. A job at Indiana opened up in 2022, an opportunity all the more enticing with Ayers\u2019 younger brother, Cam Campers, considering the Hoosiers. Ayers took the job under the belief he\u2019d be working with receivers coach Grant Heard.<\/p>\n That plan quickly changed when Heard left for another job. Henry was tabbed as his replacement with Ayers assisting him and Indiana\u2019s receivers.<\/p>\n A quieter and even-keeled coach, Henry keeps drills interesting and applicable to realistic game situations. A stickler for details, an equally good start and finish are key.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s really big on releases. Gotta be able to win at the line of scrimmage, ball get-off. So stance and starts. Not having any wasted movement at the top of the routes, being able to throw guys by,\u201d Ayers said. \u201cI think like the biggest thing I learned from him was just the way he makes drills translate to real 11 on 11 and one-on-one type of situations and games.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have a release pretty much on every drill or some type of, even if it\u2019s not a press release, like a free release throwing guys by at the top of the route with pads and simulating real guys. Real body types. Hand-eye coordination. He was really, really big on just tracking the ball over the shoulder, catching away from your body. That was a big thing. He\u2019s really big on emphasizing being a hands catcher.\u201d<\/p>\n Henry is considered a player\u2019s coach. Someone just as comfortable talking about life as he is football. He\u2019s a coach\u2019s coach, too. Ayers has aspirations of one day becoming a positional coach, and Henry offered the chance to develop that skill set.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would let me run the meeting. He would let me run the individual drills. He would let me come up with developmental plans for guys. Or I take the inside receivers, he take the outside receivers. He was like, \u2018You gotta do it. You gotta get real reps. You gotta learn how to mess it up to get it right.’\u201d<\/p>\n Henry\u2019s mentorship extended beyond the meeting him and to his personal residence.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in Bloomington, Indiana, but I don\u2019t know anything about Bloomington, Indiana. Like, anything. And I\u2019m out there with my fianc\u00e9 at the time, and my daughter may have been 2 years old,\u201d Ayers said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have any family, and I didn\u2019t have a place to stay. He was staying, I think he had three or four months of a lease that he was in until he got his house. And so I stayed in that.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce he moved into his house and then I came back, my house wasn\u2019t ready. Me and my family went to go live in his house with him and his wife. That\u2019s just type of person. He would always have the guys over at the house.\u201d<\/p>\n Together, Henry and Ayers navigated a tough 4-8 season up against a daunting Big Ten schedule. One high mark was a late-season double overtime win over Michigan State. Indiana won the Old Brass Spittoon.<\/a> Each player and coach received special medals to commemorate the rivalry victory.<\/p>\n Both men found new roles in 2023. Henry returned to the NFL, hired by the Buffalo Bills as their receivers coach. Ayers became a quality control coach at North Texas. But the two still keep in touch and texted after Henry accepted the Pittsburgh job. He\u2019ll work with DK Metcalf in his second year with the Steelers and likely some combination of free agent and draft picks to upgrade the room. Roman Wilson will enter a critical third season, needing to impress the team\u2019s new decision makers. Henry\u2019s job will be to manage it all.<\/p>\n