In the chaotic game of coaching musical chairs happening across college football, Curt Cignetti pulled a slick move to keep his team intact. While Ryan Day was reeling from losing his defensive guru, Jim Knowles, to Penn State, Franklin picked up the pieces after losing his own defensive ace to Dabo Swinney at Clemson. Amidst this coaching chaos, Curt Cignetti stayed cool and collected.

Indiana’s DC, Bryant Haines, became a hot commodity—prior to poaching Knowles, even Penn State had eyes on him for the role Tom Allen vacated. But Indiana wasn’t messing around. Haines, a Broyles Award nominee and the architect of the Hoosiers’ lockdown defense is a cornerstone. And Indiana wasted no time locking him down, ensuring they held onto their defensive wizard.

Per Matt Zenitz, Bryant Haines inked a new deal to stay as Indiana’s DC. However, the details of that deal have not been revealed yet. But it is a more lucrative contract than the one he signed in Dec. And according to the buyout clause in the Dec MOU, in the first year of his contract, he would have to pay 50% of his total yearly remuneration to the university if he left for a new job, with the amount decreasing throughout the course of the agreement. But that didn’t occur, and now, it appears that the team also changed the buyout plan in addition to this new contract.

However, the terms of Haines’s prior 3 years, $1.8 million-per-year MOU have changed in the wake of OSU and Notre Dame’s high-profile DC openings. He was indeed connected to the DC position at PSU following the departure of former IU coach Tom Allen to Clemson. But fans of the Hoosiers may now relax because the DC opted to rework with the team. And you can’t deny the fact that he altered IU’s defense from the moment he joined.

Haines joined Hoosiers’ Curt Cignetti from James Madison. Where he had previously served in the same capacity, before the previous season. The former Ba-l State LB led the IU defense for the first time in 2023. Indiana’s defense went from being a major weakness to a top-tier unit. They jumped from 101st in scoring defense to 6th in the nation. And get this: they skyrocketed from 97th in opponent yards per play to 3rd in the country. That’s a massive improvement!

As of now, during Haines’s first season in Bloomington, IU’s defense was among the best in the nation. And the most intriguing fact is that, till now, the only assistant coach Cignetti has lost during his debut season at IU was Tino Sunseri, who left to take over as OC at UCLA. Cignetti clearly understands the importance of retaining key personnel. Seems like he’s keenly focused on building a strong foundation for the upcoming season.

Curt Cignetti’s pitch for 2025

During the first stoppage of IU’s basketball game against Maryland on Sunday, the football team received a resounding chorus of applause. Athletes and coach Curt Cignetti celebrated their CFP season by marching into the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall court. For the first time in program history, the IU achieved double-digit victories with an 11-2 record.

And this is what Cignetti said—“No doubt we accomplished a lot of firsts, but I want everyone to be clear: We are not satisfied. We’re full-throttle right now on the ‘25 season. Look, let’s be loud today. Go IU!”

Cignetti’s first season as Indiana’s HC was nothing short of spectacular. He took over a 3-9 team with just one Big 10 victory when he was hired on Nov 30, 2023. Soon he planned a program-wide change, bringing in 31 new players via the transfer portal, 13 of whom were from the Dukes, his old squad.

Cignetti knows how to build a winning program. He’s a proven winner, and he makes no apologies for it. When asked what he’d tell recruits about Indiana after getting the job, he simply said, “I win, Google me.” Bold? Absolutely. But accurate. With a contract that runs until 2032, he’s clearly in it for the long haul. He’s already landed 21 recruits for this year, showing he’s serious about building a strong foundation. And he couldn’t have done it alone. Now, with his coaching staff intact, we’ll see if they can translate that success onto the field in 2025.