Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball and recruiting coverage. Sign up with TheHoosier.com here.

Indiana Football introduced new wide receivers coach Adam Henry on Tuesday afternoon. He met with the media to discuss a multitude of things, among them, how Indiana was able to poach the coaching veteran from the same role he held for the Dallas Cowboys.

Henry may have never pictured himself back in the college ranks, but after what was probably one of the toughest times of his life, this new role serves him well.

It's clear that Henry's landing at Indiana was relationship driven. First year running back's coach Craig Johnson and Senior Assistant Athletic Director of Football Performance Aaron Wellman helped recruit the 25 year coaching veteran to Bloomington. Henry makes the 3rd coach on staff at Indiana that has prior history with the New York Giants, Wellman and Johnson being the other two.

"I remembered coach Wellman was here, but coach Johnson I had no idea. I hadn't talked to him in a while, we would text every now and then," Henry said. "That's why relationships are so important. . . For me just to lean on those guys and just to really get their input was really good. . ."

Henry was gracious enough to share that he lost his mother and father in the span of seven months before and after last season. After going through the stages of grief, Henry thought about taking a year off until Tom Allen picked up the phone.

"At one point I was just going to take some time off until coach Allen reached out to me," Henry said. "I had heard a lot of positive things about him, and what I'm seeing now is real. It's a great fit for me right now."

Henry's father suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's, which took a serious toll on his mother.

"My parents were like a 'Notebook' type of relationship. They met when they were like 11 and 10. . . When my father stopped knowing who my mother was, it just crushed her. It was one of those things where she didn't want to be here anymore," Henry said.

Being the youngest of eight kids, Henry naturally grew very close with his mother. He marveled at both of his parent's abilities to manage a household, saying that helped develop him into the coach he is today.

"She was really the best coach I ever had. . . So that's why I can manage a lot of personalities like Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Amari Cooper, Ceedee Lamb, Anquan Boldin, Torry Holt, all these people I've coached because my parents did a good job of that in our home, cultivating relationships," Henry said.

Henry lost his mother a few days before camp started for the Cowboys. A flight to Bomont, TX on Aug. 2 for the funeral service was followed by a quick turnaround on Tuesday, Aug. 5 for the Hall of Fame game. His father passed shortly after the season when he went home to see family.

Six other COVID-related deaths in the family in that same span seriously tested Henry's strength throughout the 2021-2022 season.

"Through it all, you know, we all have jobs to do, and I did my job to the best of my ability, regardless of what happened," Henry said. "It was one of those things where you have to overcome certain circumstances.

"I thought about just taking a break because, you know, it had been 25 years I had been at it, and just never really settled down. I missed two brother's weddings. . . There are so many things that you give up as a coach, willingly, and I would do it over again."

Henry mentioned that he took time after the Cowboys fell to the 49ers in the NFC Wild Card round to relax and recharge, even declining an invitation to the Super Bowl from former player Odell Beckham Jr.

"At times we don't just take a break mentally and just recollect, and reassess," Henry said. "I'm recharged, ready to go, and out of the blue, coach Allen calls. I just feel like this is a great opportunity for me. It's what I needed at this point in time. I'm excited to be here."

At the end of the day, football and now Indiana continues to help Henry navigate through all of the ups and downs in life and he's ready for that next chapter.

"It doesn't matter what goes on or what's happening outside. When you get on that field, it's just a safe haven," Henry said. "You go out there and just have fun and just let it go."

----

• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals

• Like us on Facebook.