Illinois was humbled by Indiana in their Big Ten opener last September.
So much so that the 63-10 dismantling they suffered at the Bloomington version of Memorial Stadium had Illini coach Bret Bielema singing the praises of the IU staff — to his own staff.
One of the standout features of the sudden emergence of IU football is that they’ve been elite on both sides of the ball.
Under the direction of offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, Indiana has been among the the nation’s best on both offense and defense in virtually every statistical category. And that has created a lot of final scores like the Indiana vs. Illinois massacre of 2025.
Bielema says he gave his assistants a dose of reality after the loss.
“I told our coaches on Tuesday after our first practice (following the loss to Indiana), these coordinators, in my opinion, in 17 years of being in this business, they know what you’re gonna do before you know what you’re gonna do,” Bielema said earlier this month on the Pardon My Take podcast.
“I think (Shanahan and Haines), offensively and defensively, are the best I’ve ever seen in all of college football.”
The 2025 national championship season was made possible in part by Indiana’s ability to retain Shanahan and Haines. And that’s no small accomplishment. It’s fairly routine for the coordinators at top programs to be plucked away in the offseason coaching carousel.
But staff retention has been a major priority for head coach Curt Cignetti, and both coordinators have received multiple raises in the last two years and are now among the highest-paid assistants in the business.
Back with Indiana in 2026, Haines is going into his 12th season with Cignetti, while Shanahan is going into year 11.
“They’ve been together a long time. They don’t leave for a reason, I think,” Bielema said.
“They like what they’re being told, and how they’re being told what to do and the guy that’s leading them. Eventually, they’ll become head coaches, but I think their coordinators are extremely special.”
Bielema also acknowledged his former Wisconsin assistant Bob Bostad, who is now the offensive line coach at IU. Bielema says IU was able to establish its new identity in the trenches with leadership from guys like Bostad.
And of course he gave flowers to the maestro of the IU football turnaround, Cignetti.
“He has talked the talk from the day he’s walked it,” Bielema said of Cignetti. “I like people who represent who they are every day. I think the greatest thing you can bring an organization is consistency and communication. And that guy has been the same guy every day and he communicates very, very well. And I think that’s a part that I really respect in what he does, and obviously nobody could even question what he did this year, it’s truly special.”
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