Sanderson to Penn State makes me think....

[Nelson*0.5]

The news that Penn State is courting Cael Sanderson is very interesting. Penn State was a program that had a lot of success under John Fritz for years. They were pretty much a fixture in the top 10 throughout the 80s and 90s bringing home NCAA team hardware on a few occasions. Sunderland had a hard time duplicating hid predecessor's success although he did bring home a 3rd place trophy just last year. Nonetheless, I believe his teams did crack the top 10 a few (3 or 4) times throughout his 11 yrs at the helm.

The Penn State AD made a very bold move by essentially firing a head coach that is 1 yr removed from a top 3 finish in the NCAAs. His pursuit of Cael may be an even bolder move especially if he is able to lure him away from IA State.

Johnson was certainly a more successful coach over his tenure at Illinois than Sunderland was. However, both Johnson's and Sunderland's successors will have much the same opportunity to take these 2 programs to another level. The HS talent in both Illinois and Pennsylvania is phenmenal. Tom Ryan was able to come into Ohio State and make a big splash right away by simpling placing a focus on keeping in state talent. That same approach will work well with both the Illinois and Penn State jobs. Both programs have let many top wrestlers get away to other programs. The opportunity to get more top in state talent is even better with Illinois because we only have 3 in state D1 programs to compete with as opposed to all of the Pennsylvania D1 programs that Penn State has to compete with (Lehigh, Edinboro, Penn, Pitt, etc.). I never understood the criticism against Johnson regarding his ability to recruit out of state talent. I think he did a great job there. The greater opportunity was getting more in state talent...not just blue chip talent, but the second tier that you need to build depth in the room. A big name hire could certainly have immediate success by focusing on that area of recruiting.

This whole Cael-Penn State thing is just further reaffirming my opinion that Guenther should be thinking big with this hire. He should be tapping some of the best names out there to see if there is any interest in applying. I've been on the record saying that I think Carl Perry is certainly capable of being a successful coach at Illinois. However, this is a huge opportunity that I really hope Guenther is not being short-sighted on. I certainly understand loyalty and continuity, but this is an opportunity to spring board to the next level if you bring the right guy in here. I think there might be a learning curve with Perry that might not pay immediate dividends. There are other big name candidates out there that could make an immediate impact simply by their ability to draw greater talent.

We really haven't heard a thing out of Champaign about the interview/hiring process. According to Johnson, both Heff and Perry are going to interview. I really hope that Guenther is looking at guys like Schwab, Randall, Bono, Flynn, Heskett, Rosselli, Zalesky, etc. Taking nothing away from Perry and Heff, but if Guenther were to send the message out that they truly were looking at this as a national search for the best coach they could find, I think you'd get interest from guys who might be much more ready to take this team to the next level.

[Danny Burk]

I think this whole situation with Penn St shows us a few different things. First, it shows that PSU is committed to their wrestling program possibly more so than any other school in the country. Sure, they have the funds to do things like this, but it takes a lot of commitment to go after someone like they have.
Second, it shows that it really never hurts to shoot big in a situation like this. Penn St is going after one of the biggest names in our country as far as wrestling goes. Who cares if they do not get him?? They are making the effort. I think Illinois needs to look at this situation and kind of try the same type of thing. I fully believe Carl Perry can be the next coach at the U of I and do a great job. But, why not try for someone with a bigger name at first? Give Terry Brands a call. Drive over and meet him. See what he says. Call Sean Bormet. Who cares if he doesnt want to leave his current situation....call him. Drive up to see him. Offer these guys the kitchen sink. Buy them a house.
Penn St is stopping at nothing right now. (from what I have read on message boards).
Illinois needs to do the same type of thing.

[JayC]

Who is to say that Illinois is not doing the same thing? The silence about this situation is deafening. Guenther does have a wrestling background. He made the original splash by hiring Johnson. (I'm pretty sure he was the AD at that time.) And guess what. Johnson was one of the highest paid coaches in the country.

That being said. I would be really shocked if Illinois "over-pays" a coach in order to court him away from an already established program. No way they shell out $2.5 million to land somebody. I think they are taking the approach that "we know we have a good thing to offer as is". "We will let those guys come to us." I am sure that they've had some top prospects inquire about the position.

I do think that Perry and Heff are the front runners for this position. But, if Brands or Flynn or Koll or anyone else wants the job they are going to get full consideration. I am also sure that culture will have a lot to do with who gets hired. The next coach will be someone that understands the student part of student/athlete. And it will be someone that is considered a high character individual. And, that person will probably require the stamp of approval from Johnson himself. Guenther and Johnson are close and I think Guenther looks at Johnson as the guy who built this thing.

Brands will not get hired even if he wanted to.

[bmoline]

It's usually hard to read any coaching hire at the U of I because Guenther is essentially a one-man hiring committee. He does the interviews, and he makes the decision. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets some input from Johnson because of the reasons Jay listed above, but Guenther will make the final call.

[Nelson*0.5]

Originally Posted by JayC

Who is to say that Illinois is not doing the same thing? The silence about this situation is deafening. Guenther does have a wrestling background. He made the original splash by hiring Johnson. (I'm pretty sure he was the AD at that time.) And guess what. Johnson was one of the highest paid coaches in the country.

That being said. I would be really shocked if Illinois "over-pays" a coach in order to court him away from an already established program. No way they shell out $2.5 million to land somebody. I think they are taking the approach that "we know we have a good thing to offer as is". "We will let those guys come to us." I am sure that they've had some top prospects inquire about the position.

I do think that Perry and Heff are the front runners for this position. But, if Brands or Flynn or Koll or anyone else wants the job they are going to get full consideration. I am also sure that culture will have a lot to do with who gets hired. The next coach will be someone that understands the student part of student/athlete. And it will be someone that is considered a high character individual. And, that person will probably require the stamp of approval from Johnson himself. Guenther and Johnson are close and I think Guenther looks at Johnson as the guy who built this thing.

Brands will not get hired even if he wanted to.

I'm not suggesting they overpay for anybody. The boldness I was referring to on the part of the Penn State AD was that he even stepped out and approached a top notch coach who was under contract. He went for the big name. Sitting back and waiting for someone to show interest is certainly one way to go about things, but it might not be the best way to truly get the right guy for the program. We do have a good thing to offer, but that doesn't mean it doesn't become even more attractive if you dress it up and sell it a little bit to big name candidates. General sentiment out there might be that the Illini is not really interested in external candidates, that they would really rather give the job to a guy from within. Being proactive and going out and seeking out some of these guys might be enough to get them thinking about an awesome opportunity that they otherwise might not have considered. There is a lot to offer here that goes far beyond an outrageous salary.

Guenther did pull off a great hire back in '93 in snagging Johnson. Johnson was one of the hottest commodities around at the time after being Gable's top assistant and making short work of turning around an Oregon State program and turning them into the class of the Pac 10. If I remember correctly, Guenther was a fairly new AD at the time and he stirred things up with great coaching hires in a number of sports (Mens and Women's Basketball, Football, Wrestling). He has continued to go after great coaching prospects in other sports. Bringing in Zook was a pretty big deal, as was bringing in Ron Turner and Bill Self. I think it's a mistake right now to tag Heff and Perry the front runners without proactively looking to see what else is out there.

[JayC]

Originally Posted by Nelson*0.5

I'm not suggesting they overpay for anybody. The boldness I was referring to on the part of the Penn State AD was that he even stepped out and approached a top notch coach who was under contract. He went for the big name. Sitting back and waiting for someone to show interest is certainly one way to go about things, but it might not be the best way to truly get the right guy for the program. We do have a good thing to offer, but that doesn't mean it doesn't become even more attractive if you dress it up and sell it a little bit to big name candidates. General sentiment out there might be that the Illini is not really interested in external candidates, that they would really rather give the job to a guy from within. Being proactive and going out and seeking out some of these guys might be enough to get them thinking about an awesome opportunity that they otherwise might not have considered. There is a lot to offer here that goes far beyond an outrageous salary.

Guenther did pull off a great hire back in '93 in snagging Johnson. Johnson was one of the hottest commodities around at the time after being Gable's top assistant and making short work of turning around an Oregon State program and turning them into the class of the Pac 10. If I remember correctly, Guenther was a fairly new AD at the time and he stirred things up with great coaching hires in a number of sports (Mens and Women's Basketball, Football, Wrestling). He has continued to go after great coaching prospects in other sports. Bringing in Zook was a pretty big deal, as was bringing in Ron Turner and Bill Self. I think it's a mistake right now to tag Heff and Perry the front runners without proactively looking to see what else is out there.

Point taken.

These AD's are in different situations though. One coach, Johnson, retired in good standing, according to many. (I don't want to argue over whether the Illini over or under achieved.) The other, Sunderland, appears to have been pushed out because he was grossly underacheiving.

Hiring from within is not an option at Penn State. It is at Illinois. Guenther is playing it pretty close to the vest . And he should be. Imagine if it were publicized that Guenther went to visit Sanderson. Then Sanderson turns him down so he hires Perry. What sort of clout would Perry have with his athletes and the athletic department when it is public knowledge that he is second choice.

My point is, there very well may be some bold action being taken. If we knew about it, Guenther would not be doing his job.

That being said, my guess is that we'll have an announcement some time next week.

[varsitymatman05]

Originally Posted by Danny Burk

I think this whole situation with Penn St shows us a few different things. First, it shows that PSU is committed to their wrestling program possibly more so than any other school in the country. Sure, they have the funds to do things like this, but it takes a lot of commitment to go after someone like they have.
Second, it shows that it really never hurts to shoot big in a situation like this. Penn St is going after one of the biggest names in our country as far as wrestling goes. Who cares if they do not get him?? They are making the effort. I think Illinois needs to look at this situation and kind of try the same type of thing. I fully believe Carl Perry can be the next coach at the U of I and do a great job. But, why not try for someone with a bigger name at first? Give Terry Brands a call. Drive over and meet him. See what he says. Call Sean Bormet. Who cares if he doesnt want to leave his current situation....call him. Drive up to see him. Offer these guys the kitchen sink. Buy them a house.
Penn St is stopping at nothing right now. (from what I have read on message boards).
Illinois needs to do the same type of thing.

maybe illinois`should scoop up tom brands

[Conquistadors]

Originally Posted by varsitymatman05

maybe illinois`should scoop up tom brands

JayC, Nelson, and Daniel, very good points.

I guess we'll find out soon who the next coach will be.