The Indiana football program is keeping defensive coordinator Bryant Haines in Bloomington. According to 247Sports national analyst Matt Zenitz, Haines has signed a contract extension with Indiana.
The news came after the last few weeks of his name being mentioned with other openings around the country, notably with Penn State.
Haines returns to Indiana after being a Broyles Award Finalist this season — given to the nation’s top assistant in the country. He produced a defense which led the nation in rush defense (80.2 ypg), second in total yards (256.3) and ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense (15.6 ppg).
“We’re gonna be fast, we’re gonna be physical, and we’re gonna be relentless,” Haines said earlier this year about his defensive mentality. “We’re gonna be accountable to one another. We’re gonna be committed to doing our job.”
Haines joined Curt Cignetti with the Indiana football program last offseason after spending four years on his staff at James Madison.
“It’s not always perfect. But we play with a nasty edge. We get a lot of hats to the ball.”
Indiana football went 11-2 this past season and made it into the College Football Playoffs. After the season, new contracts were signed for nearly all assistants. The Hoosiers lost quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri to UCLA but were able to retain Mike Shanahan and now Haines.
“There’s a lot of good memories there,” Haines said after the loss to Notre Dame. “I think I’ll look back and just remember how much they’ve changed things. And, again, this is coming from a guy that was here before. I was in those locker rooms. I was at Indiana. I know what it meant to be an Indiana football player in 2012. It’s a different era now, and these guys changed it forever.”
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