Tom - Burroughs
Terry - Askren / Dake
Morningstar - Nolf / Kemdawg
Telford - Spencer
Hypothetically, of course.
Terry - Askren / Dake
Morningstar - Nolf / Kemdawg
Telford - Spencer
Hypothetically, of course.
Hypothetical coaching change
- Thread starter DuckUnder
- Start date
Cael and Taylor model is to sign the top PFP recruits every year and then optimize their physical and mental strength. Coaching isn't really needed when you're pulling in a mesenbrink, Jax, Bo, etc every year at every weight.
Anyone know if TNT has these positions on staff?
1. A true weight-class mastery coach. Someone that's an elite peak-performance nutritionist/weight management coach that can peak an athletes power at their wrestling weight.
2. An elite mental coach that will keep each wrestler mentally healthy and focused on training and dominating.
Anyone know if TNT has these positions on staff?
1. A true weight-class mastery coach. Someone that's an elite peak-performance nutritionist/weight management coach that can peak an athletes power at their wrestling weight.
2. An elite mental coach that will keep each wrestler mentally healthy and focused on training and dominating.
The mental side of it is huuuge. Gable mastered this imo as a coach. T n T did as wrestlers, but haven't as coaches. They (and Spencer imo) hated losing so much that it drove them to almost always winning. Most people aren't wired like that though and it is damn near impossible to put that fire in someone else's belly if it isn't there already.
What I would pay to see Burroughs and Dake coaching together…
And thus PSU didnt really look at him. Until...
Crazy to think what the top 2 at 165 were ranked coming out of HS 
Pretty sure he was 18th in the final rankings and was #1 in his weight class…
Does Willie do his final rankings for a class earlier than FLO?
Also, it just shows that rankers are very human. I also think the school a recruit goes to influences rankings even if the rankers themselves don’t 100% knowingly do it. If Mesenbrink was originally a PSU recruit I am pretty damn sure he wouldn’t have ended up 59 and quite possibly even higher than 18…
Yep. That is why I asked. I am pretty sure FLO adjusted for that in the final rankings…
Full disclosure I just wanted to bust Willie’s balls
Some of these coaching thoughts are just odd but more about people not really paying attention to the landscape. You can’t cobble together a successful staff if they aren’t aligned in their thoughts and egos in check.
If you want a name coach like a DT or Cael, you need the support around him.
Cael has Casey one of the best teaching coaches out there and he has Cody one of the best back office coaches out there. You never see either in front of a camera or get the credit they deserve for psu success. But the donors and wrestlers know.
If a big name is indeed want you want, get a Burroughs type for the donors and cameras and Bryan Snyder type for the room. Thats how you build this.
on top of that you need a closer for the HWC that can take the vision of the program on the road.
All BS aside ncaa/usa wrestling needs Iowa to be at its best. You guys grew the sport to new heights and now need rivalries to take it to the next level in the tv/streaming age.
If you want a name coach like a DT or Cael, you need the support around him.
Cael has Casey one of the best teaching coaches out there and he has Cody one of the best back office coaches out there. You never see either in front of a camera or get the credit they deserve for psu success. But the donors and wrestlers know.
If a big name is indeed want you want, get a Burroughs type for the donors and cameras and Bryan Snyder type for the room. Thats how you build this.
on top of that you need a closer for the HWC that can take the vision of the program on the road.
All BS aside ncaa/usa wrestling needs Iowa to be at its best. You guys grew the sport to new heights and now need rivalries to take it to the next level in the tv/streaming age.
The pendulum swings and Iowa is currently at the lowest point in memory. That said I see more than just a silver lining, and a complete turn around could be as little as 2-3 years away.
An honest assessment:
Big Positives:
world class facility - check
world class history and legacy - check
world class fan base - check
world class financial backing - check
world class conference & competitive schedule - check
Strong location in one of the hotbeds for HS recruits - check
Honest negatives:
Coaching talent - TnT are excellent coaches but I think they clearly have a ceiling. Short of the brief surge during the 'Spencer effect' period they seemed to have peaked, and are being passed by other programs. I don't believe they have a track record of developing talent to achieve above expectations.
Highschool Recruiting - Despite the positives, Iowa has clearly lost the ability to recruit on par with the competition. Yes, you can still land hammers but not in volume.
RTC strength - is not on par with the best
Solution:
The program's foundation is so strong that it seems pretty obvious that new coaching blood is the biggest deficiency.
Who has the resume, personality and skill to pull in the best kids and more importantly develop them? I have some opinions but don't have a specific answer. Nevertheless; JB, Dake, Nolf, Spencer, Ben, Kyle Snyder should all get interviews.
Big Bob should focus more $ on building a world class RTC than chasing the latest portal guys, who on balance seem to peak before (maybe because of) getting a bag. A problem not unique to Iowa.
An honest assessment:
Big Positives:
world class facility - check
world class history and legacy - check
world class fan base - check
world class financial backing - check
world class conference & competitive schedule - check
Strong location in one of the hotbeds for HS recruits - check
Honest negatives:
Coaching talent - TnT are excellent coaches but I think they clearly have a ceiling. Short of the brief surge during the 'Spencer effect' period they seemed to have peaked, and are being passed by other programs. I don't believe they have a track record of developing talent to achieve above expectations.
Highschool Recruiting - Despite the positives, Iowa has clearly lost the ability to recruit on par with the competition. Yes, you can still land hammers but not in volume.
RTC strength - is not on par with the best
Solution:
The program's foundation is so strong that it seems pretty obvious that new coaching blood is the biggest deficiency.
Who has the resume, personality and skill to pull in the best kids and more importantly develop them? I have some opinions but don't have a specific answer. Nevertheless; JB, Dake, Nolf, Spencer, Ben, Kyle Snyder should all get interviews.
Big Bob should focus more $ on building a world class RTC than chasing the latest portal guys, who on balance seem to peak before (maybe because of) getting a bag. A problem not unique to Iowa.
Both those things seem logical. I use Willie's lists to be consistent. Prior to Flo canning him, the Flo list was his list. After they canned him they differed. Willie was good enough to send me his whole history at one point. But now that I have departed intermat that may change.
Pretty sure the last Flo ranking had him #12, so in the ball park of Ludington and Mocco. Haines was only #8.
I think the tale of the tape will be NCAAs, followed by next season. We still have a potential 100-point team, so let's see how it plays out. A bad NCAA tournament, followed by a lot of holes next year, and at least 2 more years until the Cavalry arrives, would put Tom in a bad spot.
I know many applaud Tom for holding his ground against the Bassetts, but I personally think the loss of Bo + 2 was a major screwup. He could've handled it so much more diplomatically. Correction--someone other than Tom would've handled it so much more diplomatically, and likely salvaged that situation. Just my opinion.
The "my way or the highway" "take no prisoners" "nobody tells me how to run my program" "we don't have to shake hands" is all well and good when you're winning. But when you're putting less-then-stellar product on the mat, not entertaining the fans, and losing--and not just to Penn State but to Iowa State and Ohio State, it should come as no surprise to Tom or anyone else that not everyone is feeling the love. And don't blame the fans when the show isn't good.
Spencer has been Tom's salvation over the past 6-7 years, and his recent losses haven't helped. We don't have an internationally competitive freestyle club. Again, don't blame the fans.
So let's see how the season goes. I'm far from a hater. My chips are still on Tom until March, and probably through 2026, but honestly, my expectations for a resurgence of the program are not high. We've got a sports car with 100K miles and it's not firing on all cylinders and struggling to go over 100 MPH. I'm watching with interest and hope.
I know many applaud Tom for holding his ground against the Bassetts, but I personally think the loss of Bo + 2 was a major screwup. He could've handled it so much more diplomatically. Correction--someone other than Tom would've handled it so much more diplomatically, and likely salvaged that situation. Just my opinion.
The "my way or the highway" "take no prisoners" "nobody tells me how to run my program" "we don't have to shake hands" is all well and good when you're winning. But when you're putting less-then-stellar product on the mat, not entertaining the fans, and losing--and not just to Penn State but to Iowa State and Ohio State, it should come as no surprise to Tom or anyone else that not everyone is feeling the love. And don't blame the fans when the show isn't good.
Spencer has been Tom's salvation over the past 6-7 years, and his recent losses haven't helped. We don't have an internationally competitive freestyle club. Again, don't blame the fans.
So let's see how the season goes. I'm far from a hater. My chips are still on Tom until March, and probably through 2026, but honestly, my expectations for a resurgence of the program are not high. We've got a sports car with 100K miles and it's not firing on all cylinders and struggling to go over 100 MPH. I'm watching with interest and hope.
I don't think Ben can be a full-time coach at this point, but it wouldn't hurt to kick the tires for him as a mindset coach or a consultant.Ben is still mad that Iowa didn't recruit him out of HS.
CP on FRL made the comment that Ben "wasn't thinking about consulting" hour and 25 on youtube video if you want to see the exchange
Love Zach but it took Iowa getting beat for him to start making videos again hopefully he continues
May 16 was the date on Flo rankings and worlds were in August so Flo had him #18 before .
If Tom would’ve bent his knee to the Bassetts secondary demands there’s a very good chance he could’ve lost his job and brought some nasty heat on the program. It goes higher than him at the Univeristy of Iowa unlike other programs… How this is still lost on people is beyond me.
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I saw that but then it says last updated October 7th at the top. So I wondered if they adjusted it after…
Askren was a phenomenal wrestler and scrambler who obviously has/had a good thing going with AWA, but how could we ever trust him if he were to come to Iowa? He's talked so much trash about the program and seems to have so much disdain, that I'd think that will never go away.
This is on top of the daily fight he goes through with his health issues. I wouldn't waste a phone call on him, but as West Canaan's finest, Mox, would say, "I'm just one man."
If that is his greatest regret, he should probably re-examine his life.
Honestly, it doesn't hurt to have a conversation with anyone that has ideas. At the very least be open and engage conversation. Ben loves wrestling and so does Brands - should be easy to find commonality to have a conversation. I don't expect Ben to ever be associated with the team, but a positive conversation might result in AWA kids actually considering the Iowa program. Yes, Askren has given his negative opinion on Iowa previously - who cares. I am sure Askren today is much different than just last year at this time. Chael would talk smack about Iowa in the past and he has been around the team. I am just a nobody posting on a forum so I am sure there could be more to the story that potentially could prevent it.
It’s lost on a lot because he doesn’t talk about these things publicly which is both an admirable trait and kind of a knock against him in this day and age. I don’t think many hate on him for doing the right thing regarding bassett but other coaches that haven’t burned their equity with a gambling scandal probably could have made it work with their admin.
It's illegal to talk about a recruit that's an NCAA violation
This part is too true. Sticking to your morals and values isn't as common as it used to be....