BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines has had his contract re-worked for the 2025 season, according to Matt Zeinitz of 247Sports.
No specific numbers were reported, but it means Haines will maintain his long professional relationship with Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
The pair came together in 2014 when Haines joined Cignetti’s staff at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Haines was with Cignetti for two seasons there before he spent one season at UC-Davis as a linebackers coach.
In 2017, Haines reunited with Cignetti when the latter took the head coaching job at Elon. Haines coaches linebackers for Cignetti at Elon.
When Cignetti moved on to James Madison in 2019, Haines went with him as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Haines became the sole defensive coordinator in 2022.
Haines came with Cignetti to be defensive coordinator with the Hoosiers and he was a smashing success.
Indiana was the second-best total offense in the nation at 256.3 yards conceded. The Hoosiers only trailed national leader Ohio State by less than two yards.
Indiana’s run defense was the best in the country as the Hoosiers gave up 80.2 yards per contest and only 5.2 rushing first downs per game. The 2.7 yards per carry Indiana conceded was third-best.
Indiana’s pass defense was also stout as the Hoosiers gave up 176.1 per game. This number is impressive if you consider that Indiana nearly always had the lead on its opponent – who was forced to throw in the second half to try to play catch-up.
The defense that returns in 2025 will have mainstays such as defensive end Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds and safety Amare Ferrell back to anchor the unit.
The 247Sports story mentioned that Penn State was on the lookout for a defensive coordinator after Tom Allen, the former Indiana coach, left Penn State after a single season to take the defensive coordinator position at Clemson.
Penn State ended up hiring Jim Knowles off of Ohio State’s staff. That opened up the job with the Buckeyes. While the report mentioned no specific interest in Haines by either program, it behooved Indiana to make sure Haines was motivated to stay.
Indiana announced on Sunday that the spring game will be played at noon on April 19, which is a Saturday. This will be the weekend before Little 500 weekend at Indiana.
The football Hoosiers got a rousing ovation when they were introduced Sunday at the men’s basketball game against Maryland. Cignetti said some brief words to the crowd as the players soaked up the adulation from Hoosiers fans.
Indiana begins its 2025 season at home against Old Dominion – one of Cignetti’s old foes from the Sun Belt Conference – on Aug. 30. Indiana’s first four games of the 2025 season are at Memorial Stadium.
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