Who does ISU go after

[NYWRESTLER94]

Your philosophy is the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You have a guy who's proven he can't get it done and taken the program in the wrong direction because you're afraid to give someone a chance to do better? I can't figure out that logic. It literally sounds crazy, as mentioned in the first sentence.

BTW, I don't buy your premise that we have been "just outside" the top 10. We would have had to score about 50% more points to get into the top 10 last year. We were literally closer to 20th than 10th. Same was roughly true for the season before in 2015. Our team score has gone down over the past 3 years.

It sounds like you think I'm saying I think KJ should stay and that's it. I'm definitely not, I'm just someone giving an outside perspective. If there's someone who will produce better results by all means he should have the job. But they should be a lot better not just marginally better. Regarding results from 2013 to last year ISU has finished 11th, 12th, 14th, and 12th at the NCAA championships. If that's not just outside the top ten I don't know what is.

Was Tom Ryan a big name when Ohio State hired him? He had been head coach at Hofstra, wrestled at Iowa...don't think he was. Should OSU have passed on him?

He actually was, when Tom Ryan got to Hofstra they were a door mat for division 1 wrestling and by the time he left they were a top 10 team

 

[NYWRESTLER94]

He actually was a pretty big name. Coming from the Gable tree he had a good thing going at Hofstra and made them a very respectable program in his time there. Similar to someone like a Popolizio today who has done amazing things at a program that doesn't have much of a wrestling tradition.

My opinion is we have to get a successful head coach from a smaller program like Pop, Mark Branch, or Bono, or a big name assistant like Perry Pritzlaff.

That's something that can work but remember it's not always the case. Cody turned American into a very good program during his time there. Also was a top 10 team at one point but he didn't really build on that when he got to Oklahoma

 

[nfrine]

Dan Gable.

 

[NEICyFan]

It sounds like you think I'm saying I think KJ should stay and that's it. I'm definitely not, I'm just someone giving an outside perspective. If there's someone who will produce better results by all means he should have the job. But they should be a lot better not just marginally better. Regarding results from 2013 to last year ISU has finished 11th, 12th, 14th, and 12th at the NCAA championships. If that's not just outside the top ten I don't know what is.

You apparently don't know what is then. Placement at the NCAAs is based on a points system and there was a vast chasm between 12th and 10th. We literally could have added another guy like Downey, who racked up bonus points on his way to a 5th place finish and STILL not finished in the top 10.

As to "if there's someone who will produce better results..." you don't know until you try. That's why they wrestle the matches and don't do it all on paper. The current guy was a reach to start with and has had enough time to show whether he can get it done. He can't. Time to find someone who we think can. We have a steeped in tradition and a well supported program (no, not a PSU, or Iowa but still well supported) and shouldn't be outside the top 10 seven years in a row. It is inexcusable.

 

[NYWRESTLER94]

You apparently don't know what is then. Placement at the NCAAs is based on a points system and there was a vast chasm between 12th and 10th. We literally could have added another guy like Downey, who racked up bonus points on his way to a 5th place finish and STILL not finished in the top 10.

As to "if there's someone who will produce better results..." you don't know until you try. That's why they wrestle the matches and don't do it all on paper. The current guy was a reach to start with and has had enough time to show whether he can get it done. He can't. Time to find someone who we think can. We have a steeped in tradition and a well supported program (no, not a PSU, or Iowa but still well supported) and shouldn't be outside the top 10 seven years in a row. It is inexcusable.

So finishing 11th and 12th isn't right outside the top ten now? It's not a discussion of points it's what number was next to your team name when it's all said and done. Again it seems like you think I'm advocating for KJ to keep his job, I'm not. But if you're going to get someone to replace him it should be someone who is going to give a resurgence to the program not someone who will produce the same or marginally better results. Also I'd like to know why you think hiring KJ in the first place was a reach. Truthfully I don't know of his results with another college team just his time at the otc.

 

[Scott34]

So finishing 11th and 12th isn't right outside the top ten now? It's not a discussion of points it's what number was next to your team name when it's all said and done. Your point about being closer to 20th also doesn't hold much merit. This past championship isu finished 5 points ahead of Rutgers who finished 15th and 12 points ahead of upenn who finished 20th. They were 10.5 points ahead of Wyoming who finished 18th. The year before they had a 10 point advantage and over a 10 point advantages over the teams who finished 18-20 and the year before that they finished with 42 points the teams who finished outside the top 15 had 36, 35, 29.5, 24 and 21 points. Again it seems like you think I'm advocating for KJ to keep his job, I'm not. But if you're going to get someone to replace him it should be someone who is going to give a resurgence to the program not someone who will produce the same or marginally better results. Also I'd like to know why you think hiring KJ in the first place was a reach. Truthfully I don't know of his results with another college team just his time at the otc.

Don't you always take that gamble when you make a hire?

 

[Land Shark]

Was Tom Ryan a big name when Ohio State hired him? He had been head coach at Hofstra, wrestled at Iowa...don't think he was. Should OSU have passed on him?

It has been answered already but yes, Ryan was a desired name in coaching when Ohio State got him. Remember, he was the fallback candidate as OSU swung and missed at Cael and this is partially what got us moving to push Douglas aside and hire Cael when we did.

Pritzlaff intrigues me some. Bono is a douche and won't improve us IMO. If it is Nick Mitchell, JP should just give back that extension right now cause he was not working if that was the best he can do.

JP will have to pay as he has a tarnished rep in the wrestling world

 

[theshadow]

Won't any decent candidate want to be guaranteed better wrestling facilities? The current wrestling room inside Lied Rec Center seems a little bush league to me.

The one that they just expanded a couple of years ago to take up most of the 2nd floor? 4 mats (up from 3), cardio area (new), team lounge (new), locker room (renovated), weight room (renovated).

 

[Judoka]

Wrestling is different from other sports where the best competitors are not the best coaches. In wrestling, they generally are one in the same. I believe that coaching wrestling at this level is mostly about A) recruiting and B) motivation. Therefore, I don't need my HC to have previous coaching experience. Is Jordan Borroughs about ready to hang them up? What about Kyle Dake, David Taylor or Jake Varner? Let's get some young blood in the program.

Hire an Olympic gold medalist with no D-1 coaching experience? There's no way that could fail to work...

 

[NYWRESTLER94]

Don't you always take that gamble when you make a hire?

Yes but it doesn't seem like people want to gamble right now

 

[HGoat]

I think you have to make a run at Burroughs, Taylor, and Dake. I'd also consider Popolizio.. what he has done at NC State is impressive. Not sure if any of these guys would be interested or not. I also wonder about Nick Mitchell.. I know its not a "name" hire, but I'm intrigued. It's not unprecedented for coaches to jump from lower levels of wrestling and having success at the DI level, just look at Kevin Dresser at VT.

 

[Tornado man]

The one that they just expanded a couple of years ago to take up most of the 2nd floor? 4 mats (up from 3), cardio area (new), team lounge (new), locker room (renovated), weight room (renovated).

I was referring to locating the wrestling facilities/offices in the middle of a general student recreation building. Who else does that? I know that Iowa, Okla St, Minn, Ohio State don't, to name a few. Penn State's really aren't either.

 

[csteve]

Was Tom Ryan a big name when Ohio State hired him? He had been head coach at Hofstra, wrestled at Iowa...don't think he was. Should OSU have passed on him?

Ryan was the hottest coach in college. Took a Hofstra program from nothing to TOP 10.

 

[Cnems07]

I honestly think Jon Reader would be a great hire. He's helped build SDSU into a top 15 program from nothing. He understands what it takes in Ames and has proven himself as a great recruiter....who knows he could even bring on Metcalf as an assistant (HS teammates). The new energy he would bring would be unmatched!

 

[Scott34]

I honestly think Jon Reader would be a great hire. He's helped build SDSU into a top 15 program from nothing. He understands what it takes in Ames and has proven himself as a great recruiter....who knows he could even bring on Metcalf as an assistant (HS teammates). The new energy he would bring would be unmatched!

Not sure how I feel about it but not agains that really. But I'm almost to the point that I don't want someone that is originally from here. Hoiberg is the only hire that actually worked with. And winning here with wrestling wouldn't take much.

 

[Cnems07]

It takes more than you would think. No other program has anything close to what's 90 miles east of Ames other than maybe Oklahoma. And I think any honest Oklahoma wrestling fan would tell you they aren't happy with the program's recent history. Your recruiting needs to be 90/10 (out/in state) because if you're honest with yourself most young wrestlers in Iowa grow up wanting to go east. Take a look at Cael's #1 ranked recruiting class and I believe there is one kid from Iowa.

 

[DCR]

Won't any decent candidate want to be guaranteed better wrestling facilities? The current wrestling room inside Lied Rec Center seems a little bush league to me. Building a stand alone facility, or something attached to Hilton seems like a must for the future.

They should have built a wrestling room with basketball, one big building.

 

[DCR]

Do not agree with this philosophy at all. You have a coach who has proven he can't get the job done. So he's out. Then, you pick a guy who you think can. It doesn't get any more complex than that.

There was a thread about a month ago with some great names--Nick Mitchell, Donny Pritzlaff, Mark Perry, Damion Hahn, etc. Will see if I can dig it up.

I like Donny Pritzlaff and Mark Perry. With Perry you get someone from the Smith family and wrestled at Iowa.

 

[Land Grant]

Amidst all this love for young guns, I vote for a experience. Half the problem with KJ is that he'd never run a college program and didn't (and perhaps still doesn't) know how to do it. My first vote is for a current head coach that is doing great things. Of course, you'd have to pay. My next vote is for an experienced but ambitous associate head coach somewhere major. By ambitious I mean someone that is not simply the grunt for their current head coach. Only after those would I want to look at a youngster who is still on the mat, or has just stepped off. The program doesn't have time for yet another learning curve.

 

[buf87]

I think David Taylor or Kyle Dake will sometime be a great head coach, but they have different dreams right now and a head coach at a D1 program does not fit in my opinion. Training for Olympics and Head coach are not going to happen.