Michigan coaches Josh Chuerella and Sean Bormet in Las Vegas (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Barry Davis has been a fixture in the Wisconsin corner for the past 25 years.
Joe McFarland has excelled in the same role at Michigan for the past 19 years.
But next season, the Badgers and Wolverines will have new coaches running their respective Big Ten Conference wrestling programs.
Davis resigned prior to the NCAA Championships and McFarland retired after guiding the Wolverines to a fourth-place finish Saturday night in Cleveland.
So now a pair of coveted Big Ten coaching positions are available for the first time in a couple of decades.
Let's take a look at possible successors for the head coaching positions at Michigan and Wisconsin.
Possible candidates at Michigan
Sean Bormet
Bormet looks to be the heir apparent at Michigan. He's a Michigan man, where he was a two-time All-American. He is the current associate head coach and he has made huge contributions since returning to the Michigan staff eight years ago.
Bormet played a key role in helping the Wolverines to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA tournament.
Bormet also is a top international freestyle coach, having mentored and coached some of the top American wrestlers at the world and Olympic level. He also ran a highly successful club in the Chicago area prior to returning to Ann Arbor.
PSU coach Casey Cunningham (left) is a Michigan native (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Casey Cunningham
During Penn State's remarkable run of winning seven national titles in the past eight years, the coaching staff in State College has remained virtually intact.
Casey Cunningham has been there the entire time. He's been an outstanding assistant to Cael Sanderson during that time, helping turn Penn State into a college wrestling dynasty.
Cunningham, if he's interested, would be an ideal candidate. He grew up in Michigan and competed and coached at Central Michigan. He's a superb coach with a magnetic personality who relates well to the athletes. He also is a great training partner who can get on the mat and work with the athletes he coaches. And he obviously knows the blueprint for what has worked so well with the Nittany Lion program.
Josh Churella
Another Michigan assistant with strong ties to the program, Churella was a three-time All-American for the Wolverines. His father, Mark, was a three-time national champion for Michigan.
Churella is another top young coach who is involved with the freestyle program in Ann Arbor.
Chris Bono
Bono has done an outstanding job at South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits had a strong showing at NCAAs with three All-Americans, including national champion Seth Gross. SDSU placed a very respectable 12th in the team standings.
Bono is an enthusiastic, high-energy, tough, hard-nosed coach who would bring a spark to whatever program he is working with. He has earned a shot at running a major D1 program.
NC State coach Pat Popolizio celebrates after Michael Macchiavello picks up a semifinal win (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Pat Popolizio
He's one of the hottest young head coaches in the country right now after leading North Carolina State to a fourth-place tie with Michigan at the national tournament.
Popolizio really has it rolling now with the Wolfpack. He's assembled an excellent coaching staff and has a number of superb young wrestlers in his lineup that return next season. Not sure if he would consider leaving right now unless Michigan offered him an opportunity worth his while.
Other candidates
Mark Branch has done a terrific job at Wyoming in a place he's very happy at. Branch was a top assistant at Oklahoma State, where he had an outstanding career as a wrestler as well.
Missouri associate head coach Alex Clemsen is another guy who might be considered to be a good fit to lead a D1 program.
Possible candidates at Wisconsin
Donny Pritzlaff
Pritzlaff had an outstanding career at Wisconsin, where won two NCAA titles before winning a world bronze medal in freestyle wrestling. He followed by becoming an outstanding coach, where he was the top assistant to Barry Davis in Madison.
Pritzlaff has continued to be a top-level assistant, most recently at Rutgers where he has helped lead a revival of that program in the Big Ten.
Pritzlaff reportedly didn't leave Wisconsin on the best terms, so that may have an impact on whether he will be strongly considered or not for the position. He certainly would be an excellent hire for a program he is very familiar with and has a strong affinity for.
Pritzlaff also could be a candidate at Michigan, where he was an assistant coach alongside Bormet after leaving Wisconsin.
Casey Cunningham
See above on possible candidates at Michigan.
Chris Bono
See above on possible candidates at Michigan.
Ben Askren
If Wisconsin was looking to make a big splash and draw attention to its program, Askren would be a guy who could make that happen.
The charismatic Askren was a two-time NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner at Missouri before going on to make an Olympic team. He's had a highly successful career in mixed martial arts.
Askren is a huge name in the sport who also has excelled as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. He also is a Wisconsin native who has the type of personality and pedigree that could attract recruits and fans to Madison.
Other candidates
Trevor Brandvold has served as the associate head coach under Davis at Wisconsin. He was a two-time Big Ten champion and two-time All-American for the Badgers. Kyle Ruschell has also been a long-time assistant coach for Wisconsin. He was a two-time All-American for the Badgers as well.
Twins Terry and Troy Steiner served as assistant coaches under Davis at Wisconsin, but that was a number of years ago. Terry has been the long-time U.S. National women's freestyle coach and Troy just took over the reinstated program at Fresno State.
St. Cloud State's Steve Costanzo has won three NCAA Division II titles after winning an NAIA title for Dana. He runs at outstanding program at St. Cloud State and has been successful recruiting kids from Minnesota and around the Midwest.
Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.
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