Why Indiana Football Extended DC Bryant Haines, OC Mike Shanahan Before Rose Bowl

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the second time in as many winters, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti took care of his top assistants during the Hoosiers' two-week break between the Big Ten championship game and start of College Football Playoff opponent preparation.

The Hoosiers reached three-year contract extensions with defensive coordinator Bryant Haines on Dec. 12 and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan on Dec. 18, keeping the play-callers behind Indiana's top-ranked units in Bloomington moving forward.

Shanahan has worked under Cignetti for 10 consecutive seasons, while Haines has been with Cignetti for nine straight years and 11 of the last 12 overall.

"Both those guys have been with me a long time. They both do a great job," Cignetti said Monday in a virtual press conference. "I'm glad we did (the extensions)."

Financial terms of the deals haven't been publicly disclosed, but the Hoosiers reportedly made Haines one of the nation's highest-paid assistants — in large part, Cignetti said, because Haines was highly sought after by other major programs.

"Bryant had some calls, had some people very seriously interested in him," Cignetti said. "We thought it was important to be proactive."

The 40-year-old Haines won the AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year on Dec. 9 and is a finalist for the Broyles Award given annually to the nation's best assistant. Indiana's defense ranks No. 2 in the FBS in scoring, allowing 10.8 points per game, and No. 6 overall at 257.2 yards allowed per game.

Indiana gave pay raises to Haines and the rest of its assistant coaches in early December of 2024, but the Hoosiers were forced to re-up the money in Haines' contract in January of 2025 after Cignetti said, "blue bloods were knocking at the door."

The Hoosiers were proactive then, Cignetti said at the time, and they were proactive again this winter in keeping the conductor behind one of the country's most dominant defenses.

Indiana took a similar approach with the 35-year-old Shanahan, who's also the Hoosiers' receivers coach. Shanahan led the Big Ten's best offense this fall, averaging 41.9 points and 472.8 yards per game. Both marks were top 10 in the FBS.

"We also wanted to lock Mike up," Cignetti said, "who's very deserving."

The Hoosiers emphasized rest and recovery with enough practice to stay sharp between the Big Ten title game Dec. 6 and learning their Rose Bowl opponent — No. 9 Alabama — on Dec. 19.

Cignetti also prioritized roster building and retention with an eye toward future seasons. He said he's 95% through the "key guys," or players everyone knows, regarding future plans, which has given him a clearer picture of where the program stands entering its College Football Playoff run.

Now, after inking new deals with Haines and Shanahan, Cignetti knows he'll have two key assistants with him for the immediate future — and he plans on keeping, and rewarding, the others in due time.

"At the end of the season," Cignetti said, "we'll move on to the rest of the staff."