HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — A year ago, Indiana’s defensive coordinator let a secret slip.
He was on his way to the Broyles Award ceremony in central Arkansas, fresh after he and his wife, Kira, learned they were expecting their first child. They told only close family members, planning to share the news publicly later.
Bryant Haines couldn’t wait.
A finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach, he stepped on stage in front of about 1,000 people on Valentine’s Day weekend and shared the news himself. He spilled the family’s biggest secret — and left without the trophy.
One year later, he returned and hoisted the 70-pound award, this time with his wife and their seven-month-old daughter beside him.
“This is such a big event with first-class people and I wanted to share my life with this group,” Haines told CBS Sports. “I’ll be associated with this event forever now. I’m always a part of this. I’ll have my name associated with coach (Frank) Broyles and I can’t think of a greater honor than that.”
Still, the avalanche of accolades and Indiana’s incredible undefeated run to the national championship after starting the season as the losingest program in college football history haven’t quite sunk in.
“[Grace] has been at every game, she’s 16-0,” Haines told the crowd last week. “Never tasted defeat.”
Haines is reminded daily of the Hoosiers’ 16-0 season wherever he goes. Fans stop him in the community and his phone hasn’t stopped buzzing. At work, multiple championship trophies sit inside Curt Cignetti’s office. There has also been an avalanche of post-season honors and ceremonies. Still, there’s a disconnect from this new fairy-tale reality that has become one of the top stories in modern sports history.
“A moment will hit me where I feel like, man, we did do something really unique and special, but I honestly think that the full totality of what we did won’t truly settle in for a year,” Haines said. “It’ll take that long because there’s always something else. There’s something brewing right around the corner that we need to prepare for because we’ve got a game coming up in six months. That’s how coach Cignetti runs the operation. Very process-oriented, one day at a time.”
Even during a two-day respite at Oaklawn Resort, watching horse races and attending the Broyles ceremony, his mind drifted back to film.
“I’m a little bit behind,” he said. “I need to self-scout and figure out how we gave up so many rushing yards in the second half against Miami.”
Joking or not, Haines is a film junkie, much like his boss. Miami averaged 10 yards per rush in the second half of Indiana’s 27-21 national championship victory, and yet Haines’ defense ranked in the top five nationally in four major categories, including scoring (11.7 points per game) and total defense (266 yards). The rush defense finished second, allowing only 77.2 yards per game.
As for why the historic significance of Indiana’s climb to the top of college football hasn’t quite affected Haines, he offers context: winning has never felt abnormal. He has coached alongside Cignetti in all but one season since 2014, from Division II IUP to Elon, James Madison and now Indiana. Together, they are 108-28.
“Maybe that’s what makes it weird, because all we’ve known is winning,” Haines said.
History suggests his future could hold more. Nineteen of the Broyles Award’s 30 winners later became head coaches, including 13 of the last 18. Haines has drawn interest from other programs the past two offseasons but chose stability, signing a three-year, $9.3 million contract in December that made him the highest-paid assistant coach in college football.
“One, there’s a lot of money involved now. Two, I still believe in loyalty,” Haines said. “I’m an old-school guy that way. I’m a blue-collar guy, just like coach Cignetti himself, and loyalty is still part of it for me. I know what’s expected of me every single day. Coach Cignetti knows what he’s gonna get out of me every day, so there’s a lot of trust between the two of us, and that makes for a great working environment.”
For now, he isn’t chasing the next job. He’s chasing the next adjustment. He currently has no interest in becoming a head coach.
“Not at the moment. I like what I do,” he said. “What I like about football, to be honest with you, is schematics. I like X’s and O’s. I like game plans. I like attack plans. I like coverages, disguises, shell rotations. That’s not head coach talk, that’s coordinator talk. So, when I’m done doing that and I get bored doing that stuff, maybe then I’ll be willing to look at putting a head coach’s headset on.”
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