Henson's run at West Virginia started with promise when unheralded freshman Zeke Moisey finished as a runner-up at the 2015 NCAAs. The style of wrestling combined with his successes as an assistant at Mizzou and a variety of other schools gave significant hope to Mountaineer fans that their move to the Big 12 would be filled with hardware.
But the championships never came. Another three years and only Moisey made it back onto the national stage, finishing eighth at the 2018 NCAAs. Henson, as head coach, was ultimately responsible for those lack of results.
There is no question that Henson is a superb, almost peerless wrestling coach, but his lack of wins at West Virginia showed the wrestling community that there is now much more to account for as the head wrestling coach. Gone are the days of middling .500 coaching careers lasting 30-plus years and mediocrity being able to rule a program.
Though Henson very well may have turned around his performance by 2020, there was no guarantee of future wins and the trend wasn't in his favor. One silver lining for the wrestling community is that West Virginia was aggressive in searching for a winning program. West Virginia did what wrestling fans want from athletic programs. They demanded excellence and were proactive in finding solutions.
I hope that this latest setback doesn't deter Henson from his dreams of being a top-flight head coach. While it didn't happen for him at WVU, he no doubt learned lessons from the experience, whether it be wrestler management, alumni relations or some other skill necessary for the modern coach-CEO to succeed.
Schools like West Virginia are starting to treat wrestling like football and basketball -- tough love, but filled with second and third chances. Wrestling, and Sammie, deserve that opportunity.
To your questions …
Joe McFarland talks with Alec Pantaleo (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: I think it's commendable when a coach retires and leaves a program in a great place. That's what Joe McFarland did at Michigan. The Wolverines were a trophy team and the future looks extremely bright. Do you wish more coaches would do that, rather than just hang on?
-- Mike C.
Foley: As I mentioned above, there has been an increase in pressure by athletic departments for top coaches to act more like CEO's. Coach McFarland's last seven years are a testament to his ability to adapt and excel at the CEO-type model for big-time head wrestling coaches.
In October of 2010, I wrote a story for InterMat critiquing college coaches. I listed Joe McFarland as a coach who is 'under a watchful eye' after the Wolverines finished 43rd at the NCAAs the previous season. There is plenty over the past seven-plus years that I may have forgotten, but the unkind response of the Michigan fan base, and cold shoulder from Coach McFarland stuck with me.
A year later I was asked in a mailbag about McFarland's initial changes (coaches, recruiting, facilities) and I mentioned that I was impressed with the recent developments. Now, seven full seasons later, McFarland steps off the mat with a top five program capable of challenging for the NCAA title in 2019, best-ever alumni support, a stand-alone wrestling facility and a coaching staff many consider one of the best in the nation.
Congrats to McFarland on his incredible career and the positive influence he has had on hundreds of his former wrestlers and staff.
Q: With Chris Bono becoming the coach at Wisconsin who do you see becoming the next coach at South Dakota State University?
-- Gregg Y.
Foley: Sammie Henson? Maybe too soon. I think Ethan Kyle, the associate head wrestling coach at Wyoming, would be a solid option for the job. He's been under Branch's wing for almost a decade, wrestled for John Smith and seems to be a professional member of the coaching community. Maybe he's not the same name identification, but he makes a hell of a lot of sense.
J Jaggers at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Cleveland State is thought to be a potential sleeping giant because of its location, in the heart of wrestling-rich Ohio. When that job recently opened up, I immediately thought J Jaggers might be a good fit since he's from that area and obviously knows a thing or two about winning. CSU scored zero points this season at the NCAAs in their home city! So how much of a risk would it be? Not much of one if you ask me.
-- Mike C.
Foley: Jaggers is a perfect fit for the hometown program. However, I would hope that in negotiating his terms he (or any other coach) would insist on institutional support, including an increased budget and staffing size.
I don't know that there are any location-based super powers looming. There is an incredible amount of competition at the top of college wrestling and the programs that are winning are not always the traditional powers, but they are programs with strong institutional support.
Q: What has changed on the youth development level that has made the U.S. Cadets and Juniors so competitive on the world level in their age groups? It seems a philosophy change happened a while ago and what is the exact philosophy? And outside of some of the more well-known names like Spencer Lee, Daton Fix, Gable Steveson, Mark Hall, Yianni Diakomihalis etc. who else should fans be looking out for?
-- Marcus R.
Foley: I've written about the development of USA youth and I maintain that the largest factor in their development is online access to wrestling technique and matches. When I was in high school I had NEVER seen a college wrestling match.
Maybe my example is extreme, but in 1999 the only way for me to watch big-time college wrestling would've been to catch the NCAA finals on tape delay at 1 a.m., or grab a copy of an Iowa Public Television video of the Hawkeyes. Today, high school wrestlers (and youth wrestlers of all ages) can go onto their phones are watch tens of thousands of hours of matches and technique, largely for free. That is an incredible change in the development of wrestling that has been accelerated by sport specialization and changes by USA Wrestling. The national federation has looked to focus developmental camps on weight classes more than age groups, for example sending Lee to Colorado Springs with the senior-level team to help bolster lightweight rounds, rather than doing a Cadet-only type camp.
As for who's next … could be anyone. Print out InterMat's top 100 recruits and throw dart. It's that unclear who will emerge in 2020 or 2021.
Q: Do you think Spencer Lee or Yianni Diakamohalis will be a four-time time NCAA champion?
-- Gregg Y.
Foley: I do. I think that Spencer Lee will be a four-time NCAA champion. He executes perfect technique, has the ability to funk, is a hammer on top, and is the most mentally tough wrestler I've ever seen. There may be losses, but when the lights come on and medals that matter are on the line I think Lee is among the best we will ever see. Ever.
Yianni is also special, but I think that he's a bit more susceptible given his unique style and the likelihood that he increases weight classes each year and may find his way into a buzzsaw or two. Also, with the ACL tear his funk might be limited. Yes, Lee also had an ACL tear, but he's not as dependent on tricky knees and isn't wrestling against the same horsepower and brute strength Yianni will face as he creeps up in weight.
Both of these guys are going to be legends. I just feel more confident in Lee's ability to close out all four titles!
Q: The Kyle Snyder-Adam Coon rivalry, while exciting, highlighted the oddity of the 88-pound weight gap that exists in NCAA wrestling between the 197-pound and 285-pound weight classes. What are your thoughts about the potential benefits of adding a "light heavyweight" NCAA weight class at around 215 pounds? Both the level below college (high school) and the level above college (senior international) have light heavyweight classes (at 220 pounds and 213 pounds, respectively). Why is the NCAA anomalous in this regard?
-- Avi G.
Foley: While I agree that a 215-225 pound weight class would make for compelling matchups and put the USA in better alignment with international freestyle, I think that any adjustment would have to come from the significant movement of all the weight classes. There is just no room for an 11th weight class at the NCAA level.
The only way you could convince me of an 11th weight would be to make the NCAA tournament a team-based dual meet event with only match scores to determine the winner. Do that and you'd have my vote.
Q: What's the status of Russia and Iran competing in the Freestyle World Cup? Do you expect both will be out?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Iran is 100 percent out of the Freestyle World Cup. From the news reports it looks like the commitment of the Russians is in place, but there are some considerable hurdles to clear if they are to make it to Iowa by next week.
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