Coaches on the hot seat

[trojanhorse]

39 minutes ago, Jim L said:

Has anyone had any success at Buffalo?

Ed Michael, 73-74 season

[Simpleman424]

Tom Ryan will stay as long as he wants for many reasons. The program is good…but they’re a markedly better dual team than tournament team. He’s a coach who has won almost 80% of his teams duals over 19 years (will hit 250 wins this season). But more importantly there isn’t a ton of vested interest in wrestling so if you have a coach who consistently has you’re team in the top 10 nationally the administration is NOT going to mess with that. Keep the obscure feather in your hat and keep moving. Also, even a cursory look at the sport will tell them that no one is or has been getting team titles for a decade now. And while we as fans feel we underperform pretty consistently come NCAAs the administration is pretty content with saying just go finish top 4…or come close cause we know this is basically an out of your control. As long as PSU and their coaching tree (Mainly just DT) control the sport there is no reason to put him or any of the blue chip teams coaches on the hot seat really.

[Simpleman424]

11 hours ago, ionel said:

So who are you thinking might hire him?  

Who might hire Jaggers?

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

43 minutes ago, Jim L said:

Has anyone had any success at Buffalo?

In general, it also helps to be pleasant and to not make enemies.  If you aren't doing a lot of winning, it is best not to make waves. 

I can see Beichner as someone who may not have always been a shiny happy person holding hands. 

Maybe an isolated incident: he called me up one morning, while I was at work, to chew me out about one of my athletes whom he was recruiting.  It was off-the-mat stuff caused by the kids less than desirable family situation (that was affecting his Buffalo recruiting) but I was getting chewed out for it.  Kid ended up at a different school and all-Americaned, so he overcame his home life, but I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth for that program.

[MPhillips]

40 minutes ago, Simpleman424 said:

Who might hire Jaggers?

He's not being serious. Just like the "220-221" comment on the other thread.

You guys are too easy.

[ionel]

1 hour ago, Simpleman424 said:

Who might hire Jaggers?

Exactly? 

[11986]

should I guy like Steve Garland at UVA be on the hot seat? Getting left in the dust by in state rival Virginia Tech, an afterthought overall in the ACC, etc. 20 years at the helm, better days are in the rear view, maybe time to hand off to Paulson.

other vantage - UVA admin and fan base overall doesn't care about wrestling. long as the team stays out of trouble, has some NCAA qualifiers, kids graduate, etc. he's probably fine until he decides to retire.

also maybe I'm in the dark and there already is a known transition timeline here  

[Warm Up Champ]

25 minutes ago, 11986 said:

UVA admin and fan base overall doesn't care about wrestling. long as the team stays out of trouble, has some NCAA qualifiers, kids graduate, etc. he's probably fine until he decides to retire.

also maybe I'm in the dark and there already is a known transition timeline here  

I feel like this probably is the case for the vast majority of wrestling programs except a couple of the teams at the top of the pyramid.  

[Idaho]

4 hours ago, MPhillips said:

He's not being serious. Just like the "220-221" comment on the other thread.

You guys are too easy.

Whatever it takes 

[JMill]

9 hours ago, Jim L said:

Has anyone had any success at Buffalo?

Jim Kelly. 

[TexRef]

On 10/23/2026 at 7:05 AM, Jim L said:

Has anyone had any success at Buffalo?

I would still question if they REALLY had the resources needed. 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 10/23/2026 at 5:26 PM, JMill said:

Jim Kelly. 

ouch

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 10/23/2026 at 5:26 PM, JMill said:

Jim Kelly. 

JBs wife's uncle, Thurman Thomas, was another that did ok!

[Lordnelson]

On 10/23/2026 at 8:55 AM, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

In general, it also helps to be pleasant and to not make enemies.  If you aren't doing a lot of winning, it is best not to make waves. 

I can see Beichner as someone who may not have always been a shiny happy person holding hands. 

Maybe an isolated incident: he called me up one morning, while I was at work, to chew me out about one of my athletes whom he was recruiting.  It was off-the-mat stuff caused by the kids less than desirable family situation (that was affecting his Buffalo recruiting) but I was getting chewed out for it.  Kid ended up at a different school and all-Americaned, so he overcame his home life, but I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth for that program.

Beichner was pushed out and into the Penske Organization where he has since made a ton of money and become extremely successful off the mat.  If you think he was unpleasant trying to hold recruits to high levels of expectations, wait until you hear how Stutzman treated most of the kids there.

Buffalo is in a good place now I believe.  I think with enough time to recruit and develop his own guys Donnie will do a good job overall and start producing All Americans.

[Lordnelson]

On 10/23/2026 at 10:53 AM, 11986 said:

should I guy like Steve Garland at UVA be on the hot seat? Getting left in the dust by in state rival Virginia Tech, an afterthought overall in the ACC, etc. 20 years at the helm, better days are in the rear view, maybe time to hand off to Paulson.

other vantage - UVA admin and fan base overall doesn't care about wrestling. long as the team stays out of trouble, has some NCAA qualifiers, kids graduate, etc. he's probably fine until he decides to retire.

also maybe I'm in the dark and there already is a known transition timeline here  

 

Looking at Virginia's History, I think pushing Steve Garland out would be a ridiculous decision. I would argue that he was the first Coach to spark the ACC into what it currently is.  Personally, I don't think some do their homework.

Henry Jordan	1957	HWT
Derek Capanna	1989	177
John Matyiko	1989	HWT
Mike Krafchick	1994	142
Matt Roth	1999	125
Jim Harshaw	1999	165
Steve Garland	2000	125
Tim Foley	2004	157
Scott Moore	2004	141
Chris Henrich	2009	174
	2010	174
	2011	174
Derek Valenti	2011	174
Jedd Moore	2013	157
Nick Sulzer	2013	165
	2014	165
	2015	165
Jack Mueller	2017	125
	2019	125
	2020	125
George DiCamillo	2017	141
Jay Aiello	2020	197
Louie Hayes	2021	133

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

13 hours ago, Lordnelson said:

Beichner was pushed out and into the Penske Organization where he has since made a ton of money and become extremely successful off the mat.  If you think he was unpleasant trying to hold recruits to high levels of expectations, wait until you hear how Stutzman treated most of the kids there.

Buffalo is in a good place now I believe.  I think with enough time to recruit and develop his own guys Donnie will do a good job overall and start producing All Americans.

My issue wasn't just him trying to hold my athlete to high levels of expectations, it was more about him yelling at me because the kid was growing up around daily parental drug abuse and probably other forms of (unproven) abuse and was not functioning him in the way Beichner wanted him to.  The kid had 15 years of that before he got to me, and there is only so much you can do in 4 years.  That being said, he was successful on the mats and is also making a ton of money now, so not going to Buffalo seemingly worked out just fine for him.

Glad Buffalo is on the right path.

[11986]

On 10/26/2026 at 6:10 PM, Lordnelson said:

 

Looking at Virginia's History, I think pushing Steve Garland out would be a ridiculous decision. I would argue that he was the first Coach to spark the ACC into what it currently is.  Personally, I don't think some do their homework.

Henry Jordan	1957	HWT
Derek Capanna	1989	177
John Matyiko	1989	HWT
Mike Krafchick	1994	142
Matt Roth	1999	125
Jim Harshaw	1999	165
Steve Garland	2000	125
Tim Foley	2004	157
Scott Moore	2004	141
Chris Henrich	2009	174
	2010	174
	2011	174
Derek Valenti	2011	174
Jedd Moore	2013	157
Nick Sulzer	2013	165
	2014	165
	2015	165
Jack Mueller	2017	125
	2019	125
	2020	125
George DiCamillo	2017	141
Jay Aiello	2020	197
Louie Hayes	2021	133

agreed he elevated the program over where they were with Lenny Bernstein and before him George Edwards. but results have dropped off recently. I'm not anti-Garland, just bringing up the question per topic in whether a guy like that 'should' be on the hot seat. If he was the basketball or football coach, he probably would be.  

[Andrejacobs]

On 10/15/2026 at 12:49 PM, Wildcat92 said:

Escobedo at IU should be but he won't be.  2 AA's during his 9 seasons, a 6th in '25 and and 8th in '26.  He has failed to land the elite, or near elite, in-state talent and what he does get hasn't developed.

Case in point, Gabe Sollars.  Sollars and Stephen Little traded matches in HS, sollars teched him in freestyle after their senior seasons.  Does anybody really thing Sollars would keep it to a regular decision now?  Very unlikely.

Purdue is getting the talent that doesn't leave the state.  Should be concerning for IU, but it won't be.  At least Goldman could produce a couple of national champs and frequently had AA's.

Indiana wrestling fan here: Moran and Washington weren’t top 100 recruits, and both blew past expectations. Look at their careers and who they beat. On paper, there’s no way those two should’ve won those matches in college. Sollars is the same story: not a top 100 recruit, and he’s made the round of 12 and the round of 16 the last two years.

As a program, Indiana is in a completely different place than what Escobedo inherited. In Duane Goldman’s last eight seasons, Indiana went 6-62 in Big Ten duals. That stretch included a 35-dual conference losing streak and five seasons without a single Big Ten win. In Goldman’s final year, Indiana finished 55th at NCAAs.

The last four years, Indiana has been a top 25 program, and it’s gotten better every season. Over the last two NCAA tournaments, Indiana has finished ahead of Iowa State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan State, West Virginia, Navy, Army, North Carolina, Oregon State and Purdue. Most of those programs have had a lot more success than Indiana over the last decade. Escobedo is closing that gap.

And he’s doing it with less. Indiana is the second lowest funded wrestling program in the Big Ten, ahead of only Michigan State. This program is out-developing schools with far more resources. So the expectation should be realistic: a competitive dual team, an All-American every season and a top 25 finish at NCAAs. If the athletic department decides to go all in on wrestling, the bar goes up. Until then, that’s the right standard.