MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) 鈥� It’s not uncommon for Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to jump on their phones during game weeks, see how the other is doing and come up with ideas on how to stop their next opponent.
They’re close friends. It’s normal for them.
Such talks aren’t happening this week 鈥� for obvious reasons. Haines and Hetherman will be on opposite sides of the on Monday night, with the undefeated Hoosiers (15-0, No. 1 CFP) taking on the Hurricanes (13-2, No. 10 CFP).
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably the same for both of us. I think we鈥檙e both competitors. Both of us, it鈥檚 all about being 1-0,鈥� Hetherman said. 鈥淔or us, there鈥檚 nothing that changes. It鈥檚, 鈥榖lock out the distractions, block out the noise and focus on what you can control.鈥� As long as we can control the controllables and focus on going 1-0 and the normal process we have every week, that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about for us. It鈥檚 no different than any other game, the way we look at it.鈥�
Except, well, it is different.
There are : Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza went to the same high school as Miami coach Mario Cristobal and Hurricanes offensive line coach Alex Mirabal did, Mendoza’s mother played tennis at Miami and the Mendoza family home is less than a mile from the Hurricanes’ campus.
The list doesn’t stop there: Hetherman 鈥� in his first year at Miami 鈥� worked for Indiana coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison from 2019 through 2021. Cignetti was head coach and Hetherman and Haines shared the defensive coordinator duties.
鈥淚 loved him. I didn鈥檛 want him to leave,鈥� Cignetti said of Hetherman. 鈥淲e had a great relationship. I really thought a lot of him. … Corey is a great football coach. He鈥檚 done a great job here.鈥�
That he has. So has Haines.
Indiana might have the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in Mendoza and might have a high-octane offense fueled by and Malachi Toney, but it’s the defenses that have ensured that the Hoosiers and Hurricanes made it to the title game at Hard Rock Stadium.
Indiana is No. 2 nationally in scoring defense this season at 11.1 per game; Miami is No. 5 at 14.0 per game. Indiana has 28 takeaways, Miami 25, both teams ranked among the top 10 nationally this season in that department. With numbers like those, it’s easy to see why both Haines and Hetherman are finalists for the Broyles Award 鈥� presented annually to college football’s top assistant coach.
鈥淐oach Hetherman is an awesome, awesome football coach, and I love him as a human being, too,鈥� Haines said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 pretty easy to separate work with the relationship externally. So, not hard to separate it, but yeah, he鈥檚 a good football coach.鈥�
And they’re close, too 鈥� Haines was in Hetherman’s wedding. They even share notes on fatherhood; Hetherman said he picks Haines’ brain about things his daughter is going through, knowing that Haines has been through the same things.
鈥淲e鈥檝e stayed very close because I think we are very similar in our beliefs in football and life and everything else that we handle,鈥� Hetherman said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l remain close. Obviously this week it鈥檚 one of those things. He鈥檚 on the other sideline. There’s been times this year, last year I coached against close friends. You just don鈥檛 pick up the phone that week. You block out the noise and focus on what you can control. It鈥檚 all about going 1-0 this week.鈥�
Miami missed the CFP last year in part because its defense fell apart at the end of the season. Cristobal targeted Hetherman quickly as a potential hire entering the offseason, believing he would be the right person to take Miami to the next level.
Hetherman believed in what Cristobal was selling.
鈥淗e has great answers,鈥� Cristobal said. 鈥淗e knows the system inside and out, he knows the strengths, he knows what errors are going to be attacked and to be able to communicate that and get that done with the football players, absolute difference maker for us.鈥�
So, it turns out, Cristobal was right. Cignetti and Haines probably suspected he would be.
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