New coach or not?

Need a new coach?

  • Yes

    Votes: 319 76.1%
  • No

    Votes: 100 23.9%

  • Total voters
    419

el dub

All-Conference
Nov 2, 2005
535
1,382
93
I’ll play. I mean it’s only a matter of time and that time feels near.

The same names continue to be thrown around with no clear cut agreement among fans. Here’s how I see it:

Dake - as good as DT was, Dake was better. Top 3 collegiate goat. Innovative. Technician. I think the draw for Dake is taking over the rival program to osu and starting a new chapter of Dake vs Taylor. I could see him bring in Cornell and psu guys. Good blend of both styles and implement somewhat of an unorthodox training method.

Burroughs - post-collegiate goat. Personable. Effective communicator. Motivator. Will draw attention by his words and personality, similar to Brands, but in a more likable, embracing, non-intimidating way. Great with the media. Admin will love him. Community will too and connecting with the Bobs of the world - vitally important in today’s NIL world. Probably brings a style more in line with Iowa style. No idea who he brings in as assistants but will make more of a difference on the style we see on the mat. I think the draw for Burroughs is the spotlight at Wrestletown USA where he’ll shine, be the guy that takes down psu and unseat Cael, and rekindle rivalry with DT and be the guy that takes down psu before Taylor does.

Askren - one of the best innovators. Experienced coach and highly effective translating skills, tactics, adjustments to his wrestlers. Kids love him, respond to him, and trust his insight. Good leader of boys but not men IMO. I think he could be wildly successful with a program like WI but doesn’t feel like a good fit for Iowa. Risky. The community and NIL is a big part of the equation and not sure Iowa would embrace him.

Nolf - maybe too young and not ready for a top perennial program but will get there. Same could have been said for Gable in his day. He’s just solid in every aspect you want in a person and Coach. I get not wanting a psu guy but he doesn’t come off as a Cael minion like DT does. Nolf is different. His style is a blend of psu, Iowa, and Askren. He would undoubtedly put a fun product on the mat and like Cael, get his kids to wrestle free and relaxed without the pressure and stress you can tell they ultimately feel under Brands.
This isn’t about college wrestling results equaling coaching success, imo. But that is a lot of words.
 
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GLC1969

Junior
Jul 3, 2025
102
200
43
Mark Hall. I would love to see the Brands stay. The Midwest needs another Minnesota program. 32-3 let that burn in. We like our guys. He has to fake more. The hits just keep on coming. Do you think the wrestling room needs windows now? It would give recruits an extra escape path. They are 57 years old retirement age for ALOT of people. Just go time to let someone else try.
 

BringBackBradBanks

All-Conference
Jul 19, 2022
594
1,267
93
Wonder how many schools will be banging down the doors to hire TnT if IOWA is stupid enough to consider a head coach change. I can think of several and one is just down the road. Maybe it will be fun being antiHAWK for a bit while they crumble out of the top 5 consistently.
You want real change then Iowa needs to take the cuffs off lets pony up and make the only changes that would really work!
Final note because Im sick of all the garbage fair weather fans that know nothing about how difficult this is: our guys will be ready for march.
What does ready for March mean? Penn State could forget its even March and will walk all over us. That’s not the problem. The problem is Ohio State, ISU, Oklahoma State, and I guess we will find out Friday about Nebraska, have surpassed us too.
 
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Hawx224

All-Conference
Jun 30, 2025
294
1,180
93
Brands' aren't the best staff in the state. I don't understand why Schwab is not considered more here. Give him more money for NIL deals and he develops talent from within and see what happens. To me, this is so obvious. The big names aren't coming to Iowa. No Dake, Burroughs, or Nolf.
Iowa is still a premier job. Iowa can do far better than Schwab
 
May 21, 2023
89
301
53
Ive thrown out the name before, but what about Pat Pop? He took over an NC State team that was lucky to get 100 fans to selling out Reynolds. I get that its not Carver or Iowa, but he's proven to be a guy that can develop. Also, he can recruit. They fly under the radar a bit, but NC State has had some really good recruiting classes, without the best resources. Just my opinion. Not the big name, but I think some big names would come on board with him.
 

McUSA

Sophomore
Mar 10, 2022
44
189
33
This isn’t about college wrestling results equaling coaching success, imo. But that is a lot of words.
Well then let me frame it for you this way… 3 out of the 4 mentioned lead their own academy as owner and coach, similar to DT.

Better?
 
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bdg8

All-Conference
Feb 5, 2003
1,048
2,303
113
There is no positive momentum
Other schools can recruit against showing how recruits and transfers don’t improve
Too big of a hole to dig out of
 
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District 4

All-Conference
Feb 16, 2018
830
1,963
93
Mark Hall. I would love to see the Brands stay. The Midwest needs another Minnesota program. 32-3 let that burn in. We like our guys. He has to fake more. The hits just keep on coming. Do you think the wrestling room needs windows now? It would give recruits an extra escape path. They are 57 years old retirement age for ALOT of people. Just go time to let someone else try.
I would have chance bring his wrestling club to iowa and then run the rtc at iowa
 

HawkBeliever

Sophomore
Feb 2, 2002
26
140
28
Compliance, billionaires, blah blah blah. That has nothing to do with getting a takedown.

tom and terry know how to coach. They are elite coaches. Their loyalties could unfortunately be their coaching career demise.

The issue is their approach, as it clearly is not getting through to the wrestlers and they have assistants that can’t carry forward their approach either.

The short term answer is change of assistants, relook at the diet/strength program and overhaul of HWC. Address those things and the situation will get better and you’ll fill all those empty seats last night.

get rid of tom and you guys will be Nebraska football and probably not have the donor support in the aftermath.
I agree with part of this. I do think, unfortunately, the downfall of Tom is loyalty and refusal to change. At the time of Gable, our assistants were often getting head coaching jobs. Other ADs wanted Iowa’s assistants to build programs. I can’t imagine a program that would now hire one of our assistants to lead a program - maybe Terry but I’m not sure about that. That is a sign about the quality of our assistants. It is Tom’s responsibility to change them out if not at our standards, but I fear he is too loyal to do that. I also fear that he likes “yes” men and his current assistants fill that role perfectly.
 
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Hawk-Cub

Redshirt
Jul 7, 2025
19
45
13
I’ll play. I mean it’s only a matter of time and that time feels near.

The same names continue to be thrown around with no clear cut agreement among fans. Here’s how I see it:

Dake - as good as DT was, Dake was better. Top 3 collegiate goat. Innovative. Technician. I think the draw for Dake is taking over the rival program to osu and starting a new chapter of Dake vs Taylor. I could see him bring in Cornell and psu guys. Good blend of both styles and implement somewhat of an unorthodox training method.

Burroughs - post-collegiate goat. Personable. Effective communicator. Motivator. Will draw attention by his words and personality, similar to Brands, but in a more likable, embracing, non-intimidating way. Great with the media. Admin will love him. Community will too and connecting with the Bobs of the world - vitally important in today’s NIL world. Probably brings a style more in line with Iowa style. No idea who he brings in as assistants but will make more of a difference on the style we see on the mat. I think the draw for Burroughs is the spotlight at Wrestletown USA where he’ll shine, be the guy that takes down psu and unseat Cael, and rekindle rivalry with DT and be the guy that takes down psu before Taylor does.

Askren - one of the best innovators. Experienced coach and highly effective translating skills, tactics, adjustments to his wrestlers. Kids love him, respond to him, and trust his insight. Good leader of boys but not men IMO. I think he could be wildly successful with a program like WI but doesn’t feel like a good fit for Iowa. Risky. The community and NIL is a big part of the equation and not sure Iowa would embrace him.

Nolf - maybe too young and not ready for a top perennial program but will get there. Same could have been said for Gable in his day. He’s just solid in every aspect you want in a person and Coach. I get not wanting a psu guy but he doesn’t come off as a Cael minion like DT does. Nolf is different. His style is a blend of psu, Iowa, and Askren. He would undoubtedly put a fun product on the mat and like Cael, get his kids to wrestle free and relaxed without the pressure and stress you can tell they ultimately feel under Brands.
Schwab?
 

HawkBeliever

Sophomore
Feb 2, 2002
26
140
28
I agree with part of this. I do think, unfortunately, the downfall of Tom is loyalty and refusal to change. At the time of Gable, our assistants were often getting head coaching jobs. Other ADs wanted Iowa’s assistants to build programs. I can’t imagine a program that would now hire one of our assistants to lead a program - maybe Terry but I’m not sure about that. That is a sign about the quality of our assistants. It is Tom’s responsibility to change them out if not at our standards, but I fear he is too loyal to do that. I also fear that he likes “yes” men and his current assistants fill that role perfectly.
 

Nashville_Hawk

All-Conference
Dec 31, 2015
604
1,588
93
We will see
Grip, I’ve always been a fan of yours, but can’t get behind you on this one. Our staff needs revamped and if Tom can’t see that and can’t get behind it he needs to go. I’m good with Tom and three non-kool-aid drinkers if Tom’s willing to change tactics but this current group isn’t cutting it; we are literally regressing across the board and this latest royal a** kicking by PSU was the straw. I know our boys kept it close many of the matches, and therein lies the problem…against quality opponents it’s the same sh*t, hand fight for 6 mins and then hope you can pull it out in the end. Our style sucks, and it’s making the product we put on the mat suck. Our studs and recruits need and deserve more relevant, progressive leadership across the board. They came to Iowa to kick a**, not to survive for 7 mins. This isn’t bull riding where the goal is survive for 8 seconds; this is Iowa wrestling where the goal is to beat the sh*t out of the bull in under 8 seconds.
 
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maxpain

All-American
Jul 6, 2006
1,639
5,246
113
I went and had plenty of room for my coat in the open seats all around me.. definitely had late era Fran McCaffrey vibes.
 
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AndreTheHawk

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
863
1,673
93
I went and had plenty of room for my coat in the open seats all around me.. definitely had late era Fran McCaffrey vibes.
That's how the end starts, it did for Fran, and it would for Ferentz, but Football rules and Iowan's love their Hawkeye Football, so Kinnick is gonna be mostly full to full regardless, IMO. (In fairness to Kirk, Iowa played well this year, other than the buyout he shouldn't have survived the Brian as OC years IMO)

But Iowan's also love their Wrestling.
Beth forced Kirk to upgrade his Assistants, she might do the same with Tom. We shall see.

And lastly, the University of Iowa is not broke. They are currently 15th in the country for $valuation$, one spot ahead of the vaunted Southern California Trojans.
 
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TherealGrip220

All-Conference
Oct 14, 2025
423
1,289
93
Grip, I’ve always been a fan of yours, but can’t get behind you on this one. Our staff needs revamped and if Tom can’t see that and can’t get behind it he needs to go. I’m good with Tom and three non-kool-aid drinkers if Tom’s willing to change tactics but this current group isn’t cutting it; we are literally regressing across the board and this latest royal a** kicking by PSU was the straw. I know our boys kept it close many of the matches, and therein lies the problem…against quality opponents it’s the same sh*t, hand fight for 6 mins and then hope you can pull it out in the end. Our style sucks, and it’s making the product we put on the mat suck. Our studs and recruits need and deserve more relevant, progressive leadership across the board. They came to Iowa to kick a**, not to survive for 7 mins. This isn’t bull riding where the goal is survive for 8 seconds; this is Iowa wrestling where the goal is to beat the sh*t out of the bull in under 8 seconds.
Okay because I know you are a true Hawk fan.
First, I have already stated that changes need to be made and if Tom cannot make the changes to move forward then maybe it is indeed time to move on.

I will leave you with a few comments and questions, then I will go on enjoying our team and appreciating how hard TNT work at this.
I don’t wanna be accused of making excuses by a bunch of morans

Question number one- do you really know how we lost the recruitment of the Bassett’s and who was responsible for getting Bo to commit to Iowa in the first place

question number two- do you believe that Iowa is playing on a level ball field with Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State?

question number three-what coach or coaches do you believe that could come into Iowa change everything they do and and get us back on top beating everyone consistently.
 

Mattski

All-Conference
Apr 21, 2022
874
2,164
93
Okay because I know you are a true Hawk fan.
First, I have already stated that changes need to be made and if Tom cannot make the changes to move forward then maybe it is indeed time to move on.

I will leave you with a few comments and questions, then I will go on enjoying our team and appreciating how hard TNT work at this.
I don’t wanna be accused of making excuses by a bunch of morans

Question number one- do you really know how we lost the recruitment of the Bassett’s and who was responsible for getting Bo to commit to Iowa in the first place

question number two- do you believe that Iowa is playing on a level ball field with Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State?

question number three-what coach or coaches do you believe that could come into Iowa change everything they do and and get us back on top beating everyone consistently.
Appreciate you being willing to engage but people shouldn't have to prove their fandom just to have an opinion. I've been attending the majority of home duals every year since the '93 and been to more nationals and b10 tourneys than I can remember. Had season tickets for the majority of that time.
Obviously there are a lot of psu trolls spamming the board right now but they're pretty easy to spot and they can all piss off.
That said, what does the recruitment of the Bassetts have to do with how the team is performing of late?
How is whatever you're alluding psu and the osu's are doing resource wise affecting OUR performance on the mat?
Quite a few good names of possible replacements have been shared recently. Are they all slam dunks guaranteed to bring titles back to Iowa city? Of course not. But we know what we're getting in the current staff and it's not good enough anymore.
Iowa football fans got lulled into thinking 8-4 is good enough along with the hope of a miracle run or two every decade. And maybe that's a reasonable expectation given all factors in college football (meanwhile Indiana is about to play in a national championship in 5 hours).
But when arguably the most accomplished wrestling program of the last 40 years will be lucky to place 2nd for what just the 2nd time in 5 years, things are not good enough and it's time for a change.
Hell if you'd have told TnT 17 years ago this would be the acceptable expectation at Iowa, you'd have probably gotten KO'd. Yet here we are.
 

Hogghawk

Sophomore
Jun 5, 2025
44
152
33
Okay because I know you are a true Hawk fan.
First, I have already stated that changes need to be made and if Tom cannot make the changes to move forward then maybe it is indeed time to move on.

I will leave you with a few comments and questions, then I will go on enjoying our team and appreciating how hard TNT work at this.
I don’t wanna be accused of making excuses by a bunch of morans

Question number one- do you really know how we lost the recruitment of the Bassett’s and who was responsible for getting Bo to commit to Iowa in the first place

question number two- do you believe that Iowa is playing on a level ball field with Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State?

question number three-what coach or coaches do you believe that could come into Iowa change everything they do and and get us back on top beating everyone consistently.
Grip i am going to respond to a few things and how i feel about the situation with our wrestling program. I feel like i have been on the same page as you, and up to this point have been 100 percent behind our staff. I'm to the point that either change within our staff has to happen by Tom or we need to clean house. The nature of the sport and the changes made with reviews has made the Iowa style completely ineffective. How many breaks seem to happen in each match anymore? I would like to see ncaa take away the riding time point. The sport needs to create more action because right now i would rather go watch good high school wrestling because college is becoming so boring with these rules. Do not reward a wrestler just for riding and not turning. I think Iowa has totally outdated its style for sure. I don't know anything about what happened with Bassets and frankly don't care. If they wanted to be here it would have happened. As for a new coach I would love to see a Nolf, Kemmerer, Lee staff put together. Find an upper weight guy and let's go. I personally am not on board with any Metcalf, Schwab types. They can stay where they are at. The money will come in when we beat the teams you mentioned but this staff is not producing even with the top guys we have had. Our individual champions have been few for quite some time. With all due respect to our staff, I know they are all top-notch people. It's time for change.
 

TwoJoints

Junior
Feb 2, 2025
66
255
53
I couldn’t agree more with all the sentiment regarding nolf, he would be a home run hire, imo.
one name not mentioned is Keegan O Toole. Very respectful and well spoken, askrens protege. Extremely high level technique and understanding of scrambling.
Maybe get the coach from Virginia Tech and have him bring his recruiting class with him? Just a thought.😉
 

Nashville_Hawk

All-Conference
Dec 31, 2015
604
1,588
93
Okay because I know you are a true Hawk fan.
First, I have already stated that changes need to be made and if Tom cannot make the changes to move forward then maybe it is indeed time to move on.

I will leave you with a few comments and questions, then I will go on enjoying our team and appreciating how hard TNT work at this.
I don’t wanna be accused of making excuses by a bunch of morans

Question number one- do you really know how we lost the recruitment of the Bassett’s and who was responsible for getting Bo to commit to Iowa in the first place

question number two- do you believe that Iowa is playing on a level ball field with Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State?

question number three-what coach or coaches do you believe that could come into Iowa change everything they do and and get us back on top beating everyone consistently.
Q1: no clue; I’m not connected. But Bo has nothing to do with my reasoning for change. My reason is that we are stale and not putting an Iowa product on the mat. Boring and no urgency to score.
Q2: I have no reason to think otherwise. Again I’m not connected so wouldn’t know. But again, that doesn’t impact the style we’re wrestling; our present style sucks!!
Q3: I think there are a few out there. And it’s no longer about beating everyone consistently; it’s now about being competitive with the best team(s) and putting men on the mat that excite the fan base…and we’re nowhere close on either. We’re losing our fan base…at least some of it, and that’s not good.

I’m a Tom fan but if he isn’t willing to change the way we do business and his supporting staff then he needs to go. He should demand the excitement and energy that he brought as a wrestler…and we’re definitely not seeing anything close to that in at least 8 of our starters..
 

Stick Kitty

All-Conference
Jul 7, 2025
423
1,084
93
Tom is a control freak. He wont just change out everyone below himself. And if he did it would be all new yes men to do exactly what he wants. He isn't open to change regardless if the faces change. I know it seems like the best route but it ain't gonna change as long as Tom has his choke grip on the program. You guys need to come to grips on that.
 

Stick Kitty

All-Conference
Jul 7, 2025
423
1,084
93
All that will do is give Cael a very nice bump to his current contract.
100% As long as PSU gets to match the would. Offer $10 million and they offer $1 more. But I'd like to see what they would pay to keep Casey. Make em pay to keep him