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Indiana DC Bryant Haines wins Broyles Award for nation’s top assistant coach
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Indiana defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Bryant Haines was named the 2025-26 Broyles Award winner on Thursday night, handed out yearly to the best assistant coach in college football. Haines is the first assistant in Indiana history to take home the honor.
And rightly so. Indiana football put together the best season in program history on its way to an undefeated national championship title, and the Hoosiers defense is a big part of the reason why.
The Hoosiers finished this past season ranked in the top 10 in rushing defense, turnovers gained, interceptions and tackles for loss. Indiana’s opponents totaled just 266 yards and scored just under 12 points per game on average — both top 5 in the country. Indiana’s defense dominated opponents in a way nobody thought possible of the team based in Bloomington, Indiana preseason.
Here’s a look at the moment Haines was announced the winner Thursday night:
This is the third straight season that Haines has been in contention for the ward, having been a semifinalist in 2023 and a finalist in 2024. Haines won the award over Georgia OC Mike Bobo, Miami DC Corey Hetherman, Texas Tech DC Shiel Wood and Ohio State DC Matt Patricia.
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.