Meet the Coaches: Indiana Defensive Coordinator Bryant Haines Recognized Among Top Assistants in Nation

After overseeing a James Madison defense that led the nation in tackles for loss and run defense, Bryant Haines became the highest-paid coordinator in Indiana football history.

Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines comes to Indiana from James Madison. / jmusports.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The 2023 Broyles Award, given to college football’s top assistant coach, had 15 semifinalists, one from all four College Football Playoff teams. Among them were Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker – the eventual winner – and coaches from programs like Georgia, Ohio State and LSU.

One name perhaps comes as a surprise when scanning the list: James Madison defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, the only semifinalist from a mid-major school. That Haines was recognized among the sport’s powerhouse programs speaks to the overwhelming success he had leading the Dukes’ defense and his rising status among the nation’s top assistants.

So when Indiana hired former James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti, Haines became the highest-paid coordinator in program history at $1.1 million. Cignetti in December credited part of his success – he has a 119-35 overall coaching record at James Madison, Elon and Indiana University of Pennsylvania – to staff continuity. No one has been with him longer than Haines, his defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. 

Cignetti first hired Haines in 2014 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach, a role he held for two seasons. Haines left Cignetti for one year to coach UC Davis linebackers, but they reunited in 2017 and have been together since.

Haines was the linebackers coach during Cignetti’s two seasons at Elon, and then he earned his first defensive coordinator job at James Madison. His five-year run with the Dukes from 2019-23 included ranking top 10 nationally in total defense four times. Haines also helped develop eight All-Americans and three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the FCS Defensive Player of the Year. 

Linebacker Aiden Fisher and defensive lineman Mikail Kamara are two of six James Madison transfers on the defensive side of the ball, one of the sport’s top units last season. On a per-game basis in 2023, James Madison ranked first in the entire FBS in rushing yards allowed (61.5), 18th in points allowed (18.5), 29th in total yards allowed (328.6). The Dukes also ranked first in the nation with 114 tackles for loss and sixth with 45 sacks.

“With coach Haines’ scheme, he really lets us go out and play,” Kamara said. “He lets the d-line eat, and then lets the linebackers play off of that. Coach Haines is a hell of a defensive coordinator, and he puts us in positions to win, whether it's positions to win based off Xs and Os or for us to win off of personnel. But he knows what he’s doing, so a lot of credit to coach Haines.”

“It’s a really explosive defense,” Fisher said. “I think we led the nation in TFL and we also had one of the nation’s top sack leaders, so we allow our players to play fast and play free, so I think that’s what attracts so many players to play in this system and allows us to be successful.”

Since arriving in Bloomington, Haines said, the first few months were quite different than the last five years at James Madison. It almost felt like starting from scratch, so his first tasks were recognizing what Indiana had and what holes he needed to fill. Haines said he focused on adding players who had past production rather than those with potential but no on-field success.

All-Sun Belt defenders Fisher and Kamara are two top candidates to help replace graduating Hoosiers like All-Big Ten first-team linebacker Aaron Casey and All-Big Ten honorable mention defensive end Andre Carter, who alone combined for 31 of the Hoosiers’ 72 tackles for loss and 8.5 of their 20 sacks in 2023.

Haines is also familiar with James Madison transfers like cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, a 2023 Freshman All-American, defensive lineman James Carpenter, an All-Sun Belt second-team member, linebacker Jailin Walker, an All-Sun Belt honorable mention, and defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker. 

Cignetti has preached three main principles of playing fast, physical and relentless, and that carries over to Haines’ defense. He also wants the defense to hold each other accountable and preaches that competition is a good thing because it pushes each player to grow. 

“When you’re talking about the floorboards of what is IU football, what is IU defense going to look like, that’s what it’s going to be,” Haines said in an interview with Indiana broadcaster Rhett Lewis. “We’re going to stop the run, we’re going to win up front, we’re going to create havoc, we’re going to create explosives on defense, we’re going to hit quarterbacks and we’re going to play a physical brand of football.”

Jacob Mangum-Farrar is one of Indiana’s top returners from last season, but the coaching staff change led to a position change for the seventh-year senior. After playing inside linebacker in 2023, he’s moving to the “stud” position, which Cignetti described as 70% defensive end and 30% linebacker responsibilities on Indiana’s four-down base defense. 

Haines said the stud and “rover,” similar to nickel cornerback, have become premier positions both in college and the NFL. Mangum-Farrar enjoys the quality-over-quantity approach to practice settings under the new staff, and he’s excited for the versatility brought on by Haines’ scheme. 

“This defense excites me because we have a lot of simulated blitz packages, and we’re able to do a lot of disguises. It’s a really creative defense, I feel like, specifically being in a two-point [stance], a three-point and just having the freedom to change it up.”

Haines is now helping Cignetti rebuild an Indiana program that went 9-27 over the past three seasons, and it’s not his first time in Bloomington. As a player, he was part of the 2008 Ball State team that defeated Indiana 42-20 with eight tackles from Haines, an All-MAC linebacker. 

And as a coach, Haines spent the 2012 season as a graduate assistant at Indiana under former head coach Kevin Wilson. He’s happy to be back and said he recalls much of it being the same, like Indiana’s beautiful campus and the fan base’s excitement. 

But Indiana has also made several notable upgrades since Haines’ first stint, such as renovating the locker room, indoor turf at Mellencamp Pavilion, the south end zone and weight room, all improvements that have him excited about a new era of Indiana football.

“I think we have everything that we need here from a resource perspective,” Haines said. “Now it’s time to take off.”