Coaching Staff Next Year

Yubfrontin

Freshman
May 11, 2023
25
52
12
Warner is a good hire. Most people forget he rode pretty well from the top position, which very few of our guys can do now. Is it exciting, of course not, however it’s necessary.
From a personality perspective Warner is a great fit. When he was on the team he was known to be very funny and upbeat.
Perhaps it’s not what most wanted, however give the guy a chance. He sacrificed a lot moving from his hometown to be better and so did his parents. This is a relatable recruiting tool.
I do have a question for Tom as it relates to the process of this hire. He said
“It will be an exhaustive search.” I’d like to hear his answers on the process. Were other candidates from outside the Hawkeyes circle interviewed? How many candidates were considered? How will results vs. expectations change because JWar is officially a coach?
The first part of your post seems like you are trolling but the questions for Tom are pretty good.
 

MSU158

All-Conference
Nov 20, 2014
1,199
3,174
113
So we should hire bad wrestlers as coaches over good wrestlers because bad wrestlers are better coaches? Typically Iowa cuck wrestling fan—defend whatever we do and make it sound good

VHS is a serial liar. He doesn’t know anything. He made it up. He got caught lying about wrestling at Iowa. He should be banned.
Where did I mention bad wrestlers you epic MORAN??? Warner is a 4xAA and Finalist. He is in the top 1% of all DI wrestlers…
 

bnicolls

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2005
190
1,464
93
here's where i'm at with the JWar hire....

i think he has all the makings of a great coach.

he isn't the splash hire you wanted. but that's not Jacob's fault. you wanted a splash hire b/c of other deficiencies that you don't want to admit.
Glad you like JWar. I agree with your assessment of him

What do you think the deficiencies are? I'm not being a dick, just want your opinion. I woulda got it at Nats, but you ditched me again
 
Jul 7, 2025
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What do you think the deficiencies are? I'm not being a dick, just want your opinion. I woulda got it at Nats, but you ditched me again

Perception, our guys are pissed off when they win, pissed off when they lose, our coaches do the twig snap and cuss at other coaches. Offense, we preach scoring, but we only look great against inferior opponents. Injuries, for whatever reasons, bad luck, training, etc... we have FAR more serious injuries than other top teams. Recruiting, we get a top guy now and then, but rarely enough at the same time.
The program is losing ground not only to PSU but Ok state and Nebraska. Are we a program that parents want their kids in?
Maybe once in a while with great kids, but not often enough. Our coaches talk about accountability, but seem to have very little self-reflection. The "we like our guys" line gets old.
 

bnicolls

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2005
190
1,464
93
The hiring process might of went a little bit along the lines of one of our biggest donors giving TnT a call and just “mentioning” he’s had a guy working for him for a while that he thinks would be a good hire.
Jacob is obviously capable of meeting expectations in this role but this reminds me of a lot of slimy **** our government is always doing. It doesn’t sit right that our new coach was just previously employed by a large donor if that’s true.
You really need to stay off the Dark Web
 

bnicolls

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2005
190
1,464
93
What do you think the deficiencies are? I'm not being a dick, just want your opinion. I woulda got it at Nats, but you ditched me again

Perception, our guys are pissed off when they win, pissed off when they lose, our coaches do the twig snap and cuss at other coaches. Offense, we preach scoring, but we only look great against inferior opponents. Injuries, for whatever reasons, bad luck, training, etc... we have FAR more serious injuries than other top teams. Recruiting, we get a top guy now and then, but rarely enough at the same time.
The program is losing ground not only to PSU but Ok state and Nebraska. Are we a program that parents want their kids in?
Maybe once in a while with great kids, but not often enough. Our coaches talk about accountability, but seem to have very little self-reflection. The "we like our guys" line gets old.
Thanks Willie
 

WEH8ST8HAWK

Senior
Jan 31, 2004
4,557
642
113
You clearly don’t know a thing about Bob or Tom.
Yep we're all clueless. After an exhaustive search that Tom said would happen, he hired Warner. Save us anything you have to say..... If he didn't make 100 other phone calls before settling on Warner he is absolutely clueless and doesn't care about what the program will be after he is gone.
 

TheREALSpooner

All-Conference
Dec 16, 2022
949
3,147
93
The hiring process might of went a little bit along the lines of one of our biggest donors giving TnT a call and just “mentioning” he’s had a guy working for him for a while that he thinks would be a good hire.
Jacob is obviously capable of meeting expectations in this role but this reminds me of a lot of slimy **** our government is always doing. It doesn’t sit right that our new coach was just previously employed by a large donor if that’s true.

Wait...JW was working for Bob for the past year?

Really?
 

ILLHawk135

Junior
Feb 22, 2021
66
286
53
Glad you like JWar. I agree with your assessment of him

What do you think the deficiencies are? I'm not being a dick, just want your opinion. I woulda got it at Nats, but you ditched me again
The deficiencies seem pretty obvious. How are we gonna change the culture into a team looking to score points and don’t miss 80% of their scoring opportunities as soon as their opponent starts a scramble. Warner is a more successful Morningstar. Hard for guys who are known for being tough hand fighters with little ways to score to teach our guys how to be dynamic point scorers which is what is needed. I’m sure nolf didn’t even get a call
 
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InTheCircle

All-Conference
Apr 3, 2018
405
1,439
93
The first part of your post seems like you are trolling but the questions for Tom are pretty good.
What is this trolling thing you speak of?
Thanks for the compliment
Wrestling Think GIF by UNC Tar Heels
 
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InTheCircle

All-Conference
Apr 3, 2018
405
1,439
93
What is there to like about the hire if it’s happening? Do people remember how much criticism Warner got his senior year? It’s the same criticism many of our guys currently have, not getting to offense and losing close ones because they didn’t open up the whole match. I was a Warner fan but if this is the hire it shows exactly why we won’t ever be passing Penn state or Oklahoma state. Warner brings nothing new to the program just another plotter who fights hard but doesn’t have many ways to score and can’t scramble.

On top of that, this doesn’t help with recruiting at all. Warner is from a weaker part of Illinois and the connections he has Medlin at Illinois will also have. I doubt the type of kids we need in order to pass Penn state or Oklahoma state are blown away by the idea of being able to be coached by JW
You must have forgotten he was banged up all year? He went NCAA’s as the 14 seed and after a 2nd round loss to Elam he fought his way back through the consy’s to finish 5th. As a senior that took some guts. I’ve seen many others throw in the towel.
 

Libertylover

All-Conference
Dec 17, 2020
916
1,579
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J Rob was pretty damn special. Regardless, we weren't talking about a head coach of a top school. We were talking about the last assistant. The guy where actual MAT coaching is mainly his purview.

As far as head coaching goes, he would probably do very well at 90+% of all schools. At most, having been a 4XAA and Finalist would be accomplishments that would vastly exceed nearly every head coach out there and his name recognition would be just as far ahead.

I get that recruiting, with how developed elite kids are coming right out of high school now, is at the absolute highest premium it has ever been. Name recognition along with International accolades are damn near a must as a head coach unless you can have someone like a Spencer Lee on staff in the room. But, after recruiting, Warner could absolutely do everything else at a very high level as a coach.

Hell, you never know. He still has some pretty damn solid credentials and may very well develop the type of personality to bond with recruits. Be as visible as possible at as many camps and clubs as possible. There are ways to become a top notch recruiter without solely being a household name. With that said, a billionaire benefactor would go A LONG WAYS to help with that...

You must have forgotten he was banged up all year? He went NCAA’s as the 14 seed and after a 2nd round loss to Elam he fought his way back through the consy’s to finish 5th. As a senior that took some guts. I’ve seen many others throw in the towel.
He did always show up for NCAA’s. If he could pass this down, that would be invaluable.
 

ILLHawk135

Junior
Feb 22, 2021
66
286
53
You must have forgotten he was banged up all year? He went NCAA’s as the 14 seed and after a 2nd round loss to Elam he fought his way back through the consy’s to finish 5th. As a senior that took some guts. I’ve seen many others throw in the towel.
Nobody is debating that JW was as tough as they come and was a very good hawk. That being said he was never a big point scorer any of his years not just his senior year. He is exactly the style that many of our guys get hate for. Hard hand fighters with slower feet that can’t scramble and are in 1 takedown matches consistently with higher level competition. We need guys who are dynamic point scorers to compete with the best teams and I just don’t see that happening with Morningstar and JW. But hey if you’re cool with fighting for 4th place every year then great hire!
 

Squatch96

Senior
Jul 3, 2025
385
963
93
Warner is a really good communicator and representative of the hawks. He will be an asset on the recruiting trail. I hear everyone’s point on wanting to go for guys who were prolific scorers. Looking past that, he was a gritty guy who always made the walk to compete. He was also a good leader on the team.
he has a social media presence and we could all debate if thats a good thing or not. but kids are all over stuff like that and he seems like a guy that would go to war for his dudes and that means something to the guys wrestling for you. again just my opinion.
 
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Squatch96

Senior
Jul 3, 2025
385
963
93
Ill admitt got a soft spot for warner my nephew went to a camp he was at and something happend when he was drilling with one of his partners can't remember exactly but he ran off crying and warner went over and put his arms around him and calmed him down and got him back to the mat its still the screen savor on my phone so maybe im a little biased here lol
 

Trapper85

Senior
Jun 22, 2020
189
667
93
Warner is a really good communicator and representative of the hawks. He will be an asset on the recruiting trail. I hear everyone’s point on wanting to go for guys who were prolific scorers. Looking past that, he was a gritty guy who always made the walk to compete. He was also a good leader on the team.
I really hope you're right on the recruiting part. But I have much more confidence he can be a solid training coach. That's important, but if it means he's getting R12ers to place 5th or 6th, not moving the team race needle much. We need more elite recruits if we hope to compete with PSU and OSU, plain and simple. Not sure he helps with that, we shall see. Then again, maybe it was just unrealistic to think we could get some hot recruiting draw to be a 3rd assistant, especially if Beth was not willing to offer a HC in waiting tag to them. Just hard to get too excited about this, but that's not a knock on JWar.
 

InTheCircle

All-Conference
Apr 3, 2018
405
1,439
93
Nobody is debating that JW was as tough as they come and was a very good hawk. That being said he was never a big point scorer any of his years not just his senior year. He is exactly the style that many of our guys get hate for. Hard hand fighters with slower feet that can’t scramble and are in 1 takedown matches consistently with higher level competition. We need guys who are dynamic point scorers to compete with the best teams and I just don’t see that happening with Morningstar and JW. But hey if you’re cool with fighting for 4th place every year then great hire!
I am not cool with fighting for 4Th, However it’s where we are.
 

BringBackBradBanks

All-Conference
Jul 19, 2022
780
1,728
93
This is the best Tom and Terry can do? Might be time to make a change Beth. I mean for the next two to three years we are like Jackie Moon in Semi-Pro and the best the Flint Tropics could finish was 4th place. Penn State, Oklahoma State, and to a lesser extent Ohio State are going to be objectively better and nothing will change that.
 
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Jcchawk

All-American
Iowa Swarm member
Oct 29, 2001
3,063
9,226
113
Warner is a 4x all American and a finalist, Smart and a hell of a nice guy. Your points hold no validity of why Warner cannot succeed to be an excellent college coach.
Why does everyone think You need to be a world beater or name recognition 🤣 to be a good college coach.
I say we Need to get the best on the team and have tremendous resources, but as many here said coaching is more important. Warner could be the next best coach around, all of you do not know otherwise.
You dont have an idea either. Blind faith in Brands doesn't make you right.
 

kingstown

All-Conference
Dec 7, 2025
682
2,087
93
This is a good hire for keeping a cohesive coaching staff where they are all on the same page. I believe this is the wrong page, but those with the power think this is the best for the program at this time. JW isn't going to bring shock and awe but he certainly won't upset the apple cart. Big changes won't happen until Iowa parts ways with Tom Brands. That time will come in the future whether it be after next year or 5 years from now. When it does come Iowa will have options as the Iowa job is one of the best if not the very best job in the country. Brands will keep the program very good until that time comes. There will be no team titles but there also won't be any terrible years imo. 3-6 place would be incredible every year for all but a couple programs.
 

kingstown

All-Conference
Dec 7, 2025
682
2,087
93
The Covid year sucked. I don’t really use that since it was solely based on seeding. Even though Iowa was clearly the best team that year, you can’t call them the National Champs. So, I have just as hard of a time calling them All Americans for that year…
It sucked big time. I consider Iowa the champs in my mind as they were almost certainly going to win it. I don't even mind the individuals being gifted AA status. I mostly hate it for the several guys who were not highly seeded who would have made AA. Just a bad deal all around. As fans it sucked but way worse for all of the young men who didn't get to wrestle.
 

MALOS

Senior
Jan 28, 2024
318
997
88
This is the best Tom and Terry can do? Might be time to make a change Beth. I mean for the next two to three years we are like Jackie Moon in Semi-Pro and the best the Flint Tropics could finish was 4th place. Penn State, Oklahoma State, and to a lesser extent Ohio State are going to be objectively better and nothing will change that.
You realize it’s an assistant spot so you’re not getting a 4x or seasoned coach. I think this is a great hire.