Groundhog Day

[Maxwell Smart]

Tom's mad. "We got work to do." Same response for the last several years. 9 takedowns, 6 by one wrestler. Transfers not getting better, close matches won in overtime. This has been coming for years and dismissed. The once powerful program continues to slide and no one wants to tell the emperor he's naked. Iowa sports fans love their Hawkeyes and the teams bond with them. Prediction was 3 dual loses, they've got 2 already (including the national duals) and still face PSU and OK State. Other teams are gaining every year while the Hawkeyes tread water. Kill the messenger but it's a slow downfall that's been going on for years. Wrestling needs Iowa to be better.

[Rassling2]

1 hour ago, Maxwell Smart said:

Tom's mad. "We got work to do." Same response for the last several years. 9 takedowns, 6 by one wrestler. Transfers not getting better, close matches won in overtime. This has been coming for years and dismissed. The once powerful program continues to slide and no one wants to tell the emperor he's naked. Iowa sports fans love their Hawkeyes and the teams bond with them. Prediction was 3 dual loses, they've got 2 already (including the national duals) and still face PSU and OK State. Other teams are gaining every year while the Hawkeyes tread water. Kill the messenger but it's a slow downfall that's been going on for years. Wrestling needs Iowa to be better.

no doubt Iowa wrestling is digressing. Not only are they not in the conversation for being the best team in the nation, but now it’s debatable whether they are even in the hunt for the 4th or 5th best team. 
 

 

[NM1965]

Rinse and repeat the John Smith story. If the Hawkeyes want to move on from Tom Brands, they need a guy who excites high school wrestlers. Guys who were world champions 30 or 40 years ago don't impress kids as much as guys who've won world championships in the last decade or so, but they have to have the folkstyle achievements as well. Then you have to winnow that elite group of guys down to the ones who actually have the mental faculties, dedication, and desire to work as a coach, despite the grind of being a wrestling coach. Plus today coaches have to be masters of the transfer portal and NIL issues. Even then if you don't have a world class RTC the best wrestlers might not give you the time of day. I can think of the names of several elite wrestlers that the HS kids admire, but I don't know which of them want to be coaches or have the talent to be a good coach. 

Edited December 1, 2025 by NM1965

[GV4444]

And so it begins again.   Each year brings the call to fire Brands.  Brands is the last coach not named Cael to win the NCAAs.   He has 4 NCAA championships, 2nd most by three among active coaches.  The question is always how long do you stay with guy with that kind of resume if it no longer looks like he can win the big one any more?

If you compare it to other college sports, the thing that slips over time is recruiting.   The magic allure starts to dip as other programs rise.  Brands has really failed to recruit enough top 10 recruits in the last few years, but he has maintained the top echelon through great transfer portal pickups.   Caliendo is their best wrestler right now.  They've picked up Real Woods, Franek, Buchanan, et. al. to fill the shortcomings, but it's not the way to reach #1.  It's a churn, since you aren't getting 4 seasons out of the transfers.  tOSU has two transfers in their lineup, PSU has two transfers, Nebraska has one. 

Having said all that, Brands is in the middle of his best recruiting period in several years.   He's got Deluca and Luddington from '25, Mocca in '26, Bachman, Kenny, Borge, Amato in '27, Bachman and Kenny in '28.  If he had kept the Bassett clan, we'd be talking about the serious possibility of reaching #1.   So, expect a lean year with '27 needing some more transfers, but a big uptick in '28.   

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, NM1965 said:

Rinse and repeat the John Smith story. If the Hawkeyes want to move on from Tom Brands, they need a guy who excites high school wrestlers. Guys who were world champions 30 or 40 years ago don't impress kids as much as guys who've won world championships in the last decade or so, but they have to have the folkstyle achievements as well. Then you have to winnow that elite group of guys down to the ones who actually have the mental faculties, dedication, and desire to work as a coach, despite the grind of being a wrestling coach. Plus today coaches have to be masters of the transfer portal and NIL issues. Even then if you don't have a world class RTC the best wrestlers might not give you the time of day. I can think of the names of several elite wrestlers that the HS kids admire, but I don't know which of them want to be coaches or have the talent to be a good coach. 

They missed their shot to hire David Taylor.  That would have been the right move.  Now there is no one at that level, so you have to stick with the Brands.

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, NM1965 said:

If the Hawkeyes want to move on from Tom Brands, they need a guy who excites high school wrestlers. 

"Hello, this is Bobby Telford."

[Mr. PeanutButter]

5 hours ago, Maxwell Smart said:

Tom's mad. "We got work to do." Same response for the last several years. 9 takedowns, 6 by one wrestler. Transfers not getting better, close matches won in overtime. This has been coming for years and dismissed. The once powerful program continues to slide and no one wants to tell the emperor he's naked. Iowa sports fans love their Hawkeyes and the teams bond with them. Prediction was 3 dual loses, they've got 2 already (including the national duals) and still face PSU and OK State. Other teams are gaining every year while the Hawkeyes tread water. Kill the messenger but it's a slow downfall that's been going on for years. Wrestling needs Iowa to be better.

Don't move the goalposts, Max. In your previous thread you predicted 3 losses by this point in the season. Now you're trying to claim it was a prediction for the whole season. Don't be soft. Stick to your guns. You got this round wrong, champ. Maybe start a new thread next semester where you predict Iowa to end with a losing B1G ten record.

[NM1965]

1 hour ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

"Hello, this is Bobby Telford."

[NM1965]

1 hour ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

They missed their shot to hire David Taylor.  That would have been the right move.  Now there is no one at that level, so you have to stick with the Brands.

Yeah, the Hawkeyes missed out on David Taylor. "He who hesitates is lost". David ain't the only fish in the sea.

What about Kyle Dake? Jordan Burroughs? Kyle Snyder? How about Zain? Zain only has 1 world title, but wrestling fans know he's a hammer. Plus Zain has been in PSU's room a lot, he'll have that "Cael" touch that Taylor has. Heck, how about Gilman? He seems pretty popular with the kids. I'd look at guys who have worked closely with Cael, in particular, if I couldn't get my top picks. 

I don't think the Hawkeyes are on an upward trajectory. It's a long, slow, painful decline: like ass cancer.