Who's next at UNI?

University of Northern Iowa athletics director Troy Dannen will be a little busy in the upcoming weeks, filtering through applicants and deciding on a person with the "vision" he's looking for to lead the Panthers wrestling program.

Dannen's phone began ringing early Thursday when news circulated about head coach Brad Penrith's firing.

"There's a lot of interest. A lot of prominent interest," Dannen said. "That interest is coming from all across the country."

He's not in a hurry to make a decision as a committee is being established to be involved the upcoming process. They'll do their "due diligence"  to make sure they get the right person hired.

"The priority here is not time as much as it is making sure that we have the right person that understands Northern Iowa, that has the commitment, passion and intensity for the sport of wrestling and brings a vision to the table of where he wants our program to be and how he's going to get us there," Dannen said. "I think someone who understands Northern Iowa will have a distinct advantage over someone who doesn't understand Northern Iowa. You don't have to be an alum to understand Northern Iowa."

There are certainly a lot of attractive choices within a few hours drive of Cedar Falls. Many of those names are being tossed against message board walls, including wrestling fans' opinions of whether they'll stick.

One of the names that's been circulating for a couple years is former UNI two-time All-American Mark Schwab, winning 115 matches for the Panthers including 49 wins, which is an NCAA record for true freshman. He has experience, coaching as an assistant for nine seasons at the University of Minnesota, helping lead them to two national championships. He was also an assistant at UNI for a in the early 1990's before serving as an assistant at Purdue for a couple seasons.

Schwab, the IIAC Coach of the Year in 2007, was a head coach at Buena Vista for four seasons, resigning after the 2007-08 season. Then was the head coach at NIACC for a season. He was a four-time state champion for Osage, posting a 106-1 career mark. That's not even scratching the national championships and international medals he's claimed in his competitive career. 

Here's the kicker, Schwab is not interested in becoming the next head coach at UNI. He was pretty direct in saying "No" when asked if he had interest in the position, but he continued by adding an interesting comment .

"What I will follow that up with though is if the right guy was the head coach I would very much like to get on board and assist him, Schwab said. "As far as the head coaching position, I'm not going to apply."

I almost choked on a bear claw, because I wasn't expecting such a direct response with the admission he'd like to return to the UNI program as an assistant. Hello, Troy, this silver platter was dropped off for you. A two-time All-American alum, an NCAA record holder and a highly-regarded college coach is saying he wants to come back as an assistant? That could be beneficial luring the "right guy" in, plus it automatically reconnects you to former Panther wrestlers, old-time fans and supporters and the state's fan base.

"I still love wrestling. Still want to be involved but I don't need to be the head guy," Schwab said. "With the right guy, I don't need to be the head guy."

Alas, that doesn't fill the void of head coach, but Dannen would be silly, in my opinion, if he didn't propose Schwab as an assistant to his new hire or even straight pursue Schwab. Which makes another hot name a little more inviting. That being Mark's brother and current Iowa assistant Doug Schwab.

Doug Schwab has been an assistant for the University of Iowa and Hawkeyes Coach Tom Brands the last four seasons, assisting Brands for two seasons at Virginia Tech before returning with him to Iowa City. He's a popular suggestion right now. He seems to be a solid coach (Despite the fact that he's a Red Sox fan, doesn't the state screen its employees? :) ), and he's learning under the example of Brands and his twin brother, Terry.

The Schwab brothers would be a nice little package deal for a school in NE Iowa. Deep roots in that area and the UNI program with Mark and other brother, Mike. Doug is a recognized figure among competitors, who will likely recall his career at Iowa that led to three All-American finishes from 1998-2001, including an NCAA crown in 1999.

Mark said he could speak on Doug's behalf and a phone message for Doug was not returned, but Mark did say a little something about the prospects of returning to UNI if Doug were to be named head coach.

"Absolutely. Absolutely," Mark Schwab said about Doug being one of those right guys in the head coaching position he would assist.

The biggest knock would be Schwab's experience. No head coaching experience and he hasn't been a top assistant yet. Both are legit, but certainly not enough to eliminate him from contention, in my opinion. Schwab seems to be training for national and international competition. He was a member of the 2008 Olympic team and won a match at Cornell in a dual against a visiting Russian squad. One would think that the responsibilities of being a head Division I coach wouldn't allow him to continue to train the way he needed for competition.

Speaking of the Iowa staff, Terry Brands is someone that very well could be sought out for the position. Brands' accomplishments speak for themselves. He's a two-time national champion and three-time All-American for Iowa and learned under Dan Gable. He has World titles and is an Olympic bronze medalist. He's been a head coach at the Division I level (UT-Chattanooga) and has been an assistant for Iowa and other top institutions. He was USA Wrestling's National Freestyle Resident coach for three years, training and developing some of the country's best wrestlers. Among those he trained were 2008 Olympic champion Henry Cejudo and former Iowa Hawkeye Bill Zadick, who won the 2006 World Championships.

Terry Brands was a big focus of Iowa State's coaching search last year, but remained in Iowa City. Not sure what UNI can offer him that would entice him more than ISU, but it would be like striking oil for the Panthers. He would rejuvenate the fan base and certainly be an attraction for the country's top prep wrestlers. The real question is how much Terry wants to be head coach. He once mentioned that his dream position is just being in the room and teaching technique 24/7.

Staying in the state, another candidate that could turn heads would be Chris Bono. He does have some experience being a head coach at the Division I level (Also at UT-Chattanooga) and being a top assistant for the ISU program. Bono is popular among many in the state and has a strong relationship with wrestlers. When the ISU coach search began last spring, one wrestler noted that he was one of the wrestlers' recommendations to replace Cael Sanderson. He certainly

At one time, Wartburg Coach Jim Miller, a former two-time Division II national champion for UNI, had been mentioned as a contender when the position was previously open. he stayed at Wartburg, but there are a couple NCAAA Division III coaches who would make great candidates.

Miller's former Wartburg assistant and current Wisconsin-La Crosse Coach Dave Malecek (Also from Osage...there is a theme here) could be a consideration. He's done good things at UWL. He's led the Eagles to top three national finishes in each of his four years there, placing third in 2007 and 2009 and second in 2008 and 2010. Sure, UWL was an established program, but you can't argue with the job he's done in his tenure there. He was an All-American at UNI and certainly could make the jump to the Division I level. The biggest knock would be the lack of Division I experience.

If you're going to consider Division III coaches then I think you have to include Coe coach John Oostendorp. He's done a phenomenal job, taking the Kohawks to unprecedented levels. He's got the Gable mentality and literally built Coe into a national title contender. The Kohawks have placed fourth in each of the last three NCAA tournaments and two national champs (Clayton Rush in 2010 and Tyler Burkle in 2008). Oostendorp has the fire to re-ignite the program. Oostendorp already coaches with a Division I mentality, focusing on being one of the best programs in the country regardless of classification. A step to that level wouldn't be a stretch, but like Malecek doesn't necessarily have the D-I experience other candidates might have.

Here are a few other names to ponder. How about Upper Iowa's Heath Grimm? He's done a great job with the Peacocks. He's sparked interest in that program, leading them to their best finishes at the Division II level. Plus, he's attracted fans of the program, bringing in crowds of around 1,000 (I believe that's what I was told) for a dual meet.

Others have mentioned Tolly Thompson and Joel Greenlee, who is a former UNI wrestlers who is the head coach at Ohio University. Here's one out of the blue (and not likely), how about Bart Chelesvig? He's had a ton of experience, being a long-time assistant for Barry Davis at Wisconsin before resigning after the 2008-09 season. He's mentioned he would like to return to coaching, according to a source of the blog. Maybe he returns in some fashion to UNI.

Dannen said that decisions on the assistants won't be made now. Likely, it will depend on the new hire. The current wrestlers are in a state of limbo, processing the dismissal of their coach and the uncertainty of who will be pushing them next season.

Former Independence state champion and 184-pound junior Andy O'Loughlin has confidence the school will make a good hire.

"It's just a matter of a few weeks before we have a new head coach coming in," O'Loughlin said. "I'm not too worried about it."

Jarion Beets, who was eighth at 174 pounds and the Pantehrs lone All-American this season, said he just wants a good transition, avoiding problems as the new coach and team gets acclimated to one another.

"I hope they make a good decision in picking a new coach," said Beets, a former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep. "I hope he can make the transition with our team and our guys so it's not a rocky road. The first year having a new coach can be kind of rough. I just hope it won't affect me and how I do and how I prepare to finish off my senior season."