The javascript function resizeEditorBox gets only included in advanced mode on line 214:
(($mode =='advanced') ? tinytinymce_resize() : '').

But the default script for Simple mode adds on line 248:
init_instance_callback : "resizeEditorBox",

This generates an 'undefined' is null or not an object error in IE.

Solution is to always add tinytinymce_resize().