Indiana defensive coordinator punches back at Ty Simpson’s ‘bad take’, chides Alabama fans

Even though Indiana whooped Alabama 38-3 during the College Football Playoff’s Rose Bowl, Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson insists he knew what was going to be called every time — he just couldn’t do anything about it.

Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines wasn’t flattered by the admission.

Simpson, who suffered a fractured rib in the game and missed most of the second half, was a guest on former Ohio State and Alabama safety Caleb Downs’ podcast, and during the conversation, the former Alabama signal caller made the claim.

“From my point of view, I was like, they don’t do much,” Simpson recalled. “I was like, they do the same thing every down. So when I got the ball, I knew exactly what was going to happen. They just didn’t mess up, bro. They were in the exact same spot they were supposed to be. And they were so well coached.”

Simpson later added, “I knew what they were going to do, but we couldn’t really run the ball” and said it was different than the “unorthodox coverages” he saw in the SEC.

Haines clapped back on Twitter, calling it “adorable.”

He added, “We also, saw everything they were doing, on every single snap… It’s just that we exploited those cues. And didn’t get frozen and crushed by them.”

Haines then taunted Alabama fans in a subsequent tweet.

“That’s all it took to break your entire fanbase?” he wrote. “Wow.. maybe I should’ve just said ‘Boo’. No apologies, no compliments. Grow up folks. He had a bad take and I said the painful truth. Bounce back better. #GoIU #NoCompliments“

Haines, the defensive coordinator for Indiana the past two seasons, won the Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant in 2026 following their national title victory.

Prior to joining Indiana, Haines was the defensive coordinator for James Madison.

Simpson, an NFL draft hopeful, is a contender to be a first-round pick later this week.

Simpson, 23, threw for 3,567 yards in 2025 en route to Alabama’s College Football Playoff berth.

Over the course of the season, he also logged 28 passing touchdowns to just five interceptions, with a 64.5 completion percentage.