Chad Henne

Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, where he is the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, with 9,715 yards and 87 touchdowns. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, and started multiple seasons over his NFL career, for both the Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. He also won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, serving as the backup quarterback.

Early life

Henne moved into the Wilson School District prior to the start of his third grade year in 1994. He played in 43 scholastic games for the Bulldogs (42 starts) over four seasons, earning a record of 33–10. His Wilson football teams won two Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 titles, the first his freshman year (2000) and the second his junior season (2002). Henne's third scholastic year was his most successful, both individually and as a team. His 2002 Wilson Bulldogs squad finished their regular season undefeated with a record of 10–0 and were the 2002 PIAA District 3 AAAA runner-up, falling to Central Dauphin in a thrilling championship game. He amassed 7,071 passing yards in his high school career, which was fourth-most all-time (45th as of 2024) in PIAA history (and first in PIAA District 3) at the conclusion of Henne's senior season in the fall of 2003, behind John Veach (Mount Carmel Area), Evan Kraky (Lakeland), and Ron Powlus (Berwick). Henne holds three significant Wilson football program records (as of February 2020): career passing yardage (7,071); career passing touchdowns (74), and most touchdown passes in a game (5; tied). He was named to the Pennsylvania All-State Football Team as a senior in 2003, selected to participate in the 47th Annual Big 33 Football Classic in July 2004, was named the Pennsylvania Football Gatorade Player of the Year for 2003–2004, and earned national recognition as a member of the 2003–2004 Parade High School All-American Football Team. In October 2014, Henne was inducted into the Wilson High School Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition to his football accomplishments, Henne was also a member of the Wilson varsity basketball team for three years as well as an outstanding athlete for the Bulldogs track and field team, finishing as the PIAA runner-up in the javelin as a senior after finishing first at the District 3 meet two weeks earlier. Henne aspires to become a coach at his alma mater following his lengthy NFL career.

In 2000, his freshman season at Wilson Senior High School in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, Henne played QB in all 11 games and 10 starts. He rotated at QB with junior Ian Firestone in the Week 1 storm-delayed win vs Harrisburg, but would start the remaining 10 games for the Bulldogs and play the majority of the positional snaps. Against Wilson's first three opponents, Henne led comeback victories in their games with Harrisburg, Stroudsburg, and Boyertown before a setback at Cedar Crest to open League play. Henne's Wilson team would win their next six contests, including a thrilling comeback victory at Reading, before falling 7–21 in the 2000 District 3 AAAA semifinals to eventual champion Cumberland Valley. His freshman season was an overwhelming success, with the team finishing 9–2 and earning a share of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title (with Cedar Crest and Reading).

Under Henne, Wilson would struggle during his second campaign as starter. The Bulldogs ended their season with an overall record of 6–4 and suffered three consecutive losses for the first time since the 1988 season.

At the end of his junior year in 2002, having been offered forty scholarships from various collegiate athletic programs, Henne narrowed his college options down to five schools: Miami, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, and Penn State.

Before his first game as a senior, Henne announced his plans to become a Wolverine at the University of Michigan. He was named to the preseason Pennsylvania All-State Football First-team. Following high school, Henne played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a member of the East team.

College career

In 2004, Henne entered the season as a freshman for the Wolverines, and third on the depth chart behind redshirt sophomore Matt Gutierrez and redshirt freshman quarterback Clayton Richard. The Monday prior to the season opener against the Miami RedHawks, Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr announced Gutierrez would start even though he was suffering from a sore shoulder. A few days later, Carr decided to allow Henne to start in relief of Gutierrez.

Henne ended his first career game with a 43–10 win, completing 14 of 24 passes for 142 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Henne was just the second true freshman in Michigan history to start on opening day, a feat not seen at Michigan since Rick Leach in 1975.

Alongside freshman running back Mike Hart, he galvanized an explosive offensive unit that featured receivers Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant, and Steve Breaston. All five would later go on to the NFL. Henne's freshman season was highlighted by a triple-overtime win over in-state rival Michigan State and a record-tying performance in the Rose Bowl against Texas. He also tied the Michigan season record for touchdown passes with 25, first set by Elvis Grbac in 1991.

Henne was criticized in 2005 after Michigan, ranked in the top five of the preseason polls, stumbled to a 3–3 start. The sophomore quarterback was particularly scrutinized after his performance in a close loss to Notre Dame, in which he completed fewer than half of his pass attempts and lost a fumble on the goal line. After their 3–3 start, Michigan won four consecutive games to clinch the program's 21st consecutive winning season.

As a junior in 2006, Henne earned Rivals.com All-American third-team honors. He was a Manning Award finalist, Maxwell Award semifinalist, Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist, and Walter Camp Award candidate. The All-Big Ten Conference second-team choice started all thirteen games. He hit on 203-of-328 passes for 2,508 yards and 22 touchdowns with eight interceptions, ranking fifth in Michigan's season record list for touchdown passes, eighth in attempts and completions and tenth in passing yards. For the third straight year Michigan concluded their season by losing to Ohio State and then dropping their bowl game, this time to Southern California.

During his senior year in 2007, Henne completed 162 of 278 passes for 1,938 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. The first game of the season ended in disaster for Michigan, a loss to Appalachian State that was considered one of the biggest sports upsets of all time. In the following game Henne suffered a knee injury in the first half against Oregon, and sat out the second half, as well as subsequent games against Notre Dame and Penn State, before returning to the starting lineup against Northwestern. In the final regular season game, Michigan fell to Ohio State 14–3, completing an 0–4 career record for Henne and fellow seniors Mike Hart and Jake Long against the Buckeyes. Henne played his final collegiate game against Florida in the Capital One Bowl. Henne was named the MVP of the game after he led his team to a 41–35 victory over the Gators and reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow.

For his collegiate career, Henne completed 828 of 1,387 passes for 9,715 yards, 87 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions. All five marks are school records. Henne's passing touchdown total is second in Big Ten Conference history.

College statistics

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

2008 season

Henne was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round (57th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft. He was the fourth quarterback chosen, following Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Brian Brohm. His left tackle at Michigan, Jake Long, was the first selection of the draft and would again play alongside Henne in Miami.

Henne agreed to a four-year, $3.5 million contract with the team on July 26. Out of training camp, Henne earned the backup quarterback role behind starter Chad Pennington. During the second game of the 2008 season, Henne made his NFL debut with 9:42 left; down 31–3 against the Arizona Cardinals. Henne spent the remainder of the season on the bench and played in only two other games, both divisional matchups with the New England Patriots.

2009 season

During the third game of the 2009 season, in the early third quarter of a road game versus the San Diego Chargers, San Diego linebacker Kevin Burnett knocked Chad Pennington out of the game with a season-ending injury to his shoulder and rotator cuff. Henne came off the bench in relief. Though he led the Dolphins offense to ten points in the final 20 minutes of the game, he also had an interception returned 31 yards for a touchdown by Eric Weddle.

Henne made his first career start on October 4, 2009, against the Buffalo Bills at home. Henne went 14–of–22 with one touchdown in a 38–10 victory, lifting the team to a 1–3 record. In his second NFL start, he led the underdog Dolphins to a 31–27 win over the New York Jets in a Monday Night Football game. He completed 20 out of 26 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns. This was Henne's second straight win as starter and included a 53-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr.