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Any thoughts on his replacement?

John Hughes from Lehigh. Penn State NCAA champ. Pa native that is involved in a great academic school with class.

I hope they go get the person who was first to hand in a resume last time. Coleman Scott, WPA boy with a lot of connections. Wish Sammie the best

I just heard the news of Coach Henson's departure from WVU. I want to thank Coach Henson for the time, money, & effort that he put into Team WV. He was always 100% on board to run and host clinics, sit in WV kids corners, spend program booster money on team buses, and push us to achieve more as a state. I realize that I am not privy to all of the details of his leaving the program. But, as a Team WV leader, I always found Coach Henson helpful and a great catalyst for our WV kids.

Thank you for your support of Team WV, Coach Henson. And best of luck wherever you end up.

Rob Archer
Huntington Wrestling

Thanks to Coach Henson for his efforts at WVU and throughout West Virginia. That being said, I say we think outside the box and hire Ben Askren. He was interested in the job that was open last week and it did not pan out. Great with kids, his AWA camp and club team system provides ready made recruits, Hodge winner, Olympian, MMA Champ, etc. He would bring instant publicity and popularity to WVU wrestling. He is retired from MMA and looking to coach college. Ben loves the outdoors so WV would be a natural fit. Let's get Funky!

Askren would be interesting. My worry here is recruiting experience. Hughes may well be good too. Let's see what interest this position brings. I want someone who can recruit against Sanderson from Penn State. He is getting most of the material.

This is a bit of a shocker. I don't want rumors here. Please post facts. What happened?

West Virginia University wrestling is a sleeping giant. AD Shane Lyons is a Parkersburg guy who understands this.

The WPIAL conference, by far the best high school wrestling league in the country, starts its boundary a few miles from the Coliseum. Why our wrestling coaches don’t lock down Western PA recruiting with our outstanding facilities and great Big 12 conference is a mystery. Look what Cael did at moribund Penn State by just keeping kids home in PA. Why bring kids in from anywhere but PA, OH and WV? Look where our last 10 AA went to high school.

I wish Coach Henson the absolute best, but it was time to move on. The situation was getting worse and to have only one (8th placer) All American over the past 2 years is unacceptable.

dunbar76 wrote:This is a bit of a shocker. I don't want rumors here. Please post facts. What happened?

What happened? A father with a wife and a bunch of kids got fired for not turning the program around faster. No need to glory in the details. Move on.

Matofficial wrote:John Hughes from Lehigh. Penn State NCAA champ. Pa native that is involved in a great academic school with class.

Not a bad option. Lehigh had 3 All Americans this year, and has had at least 3 AA’s in 6 of the past 8 years. All Americans are the best measure of an NCAA program.

How about Cary Kolat? Who were some of the candidates when Turnbull was fired? Are they still available?

Just got a text back from Ben - he is not a candidate. Sigh ... It would have been fun though!

aaacoach61, may first post indicates I'm ready to move on. No shame in learning things so mistakes will not be repeated. I've said for several years we need to be competing with Sanderson in recruiting. Bring someone in who WILL do this.

aaacoach61, Although I like your blunt assessment.

I have followed college wrestling and subscribed to publications like AWN and WIN for 20 years. Here is my read:

1. We can not hire an assistant without previous head coaching experience. The learning curve is too great at the D-1 level. Coach Mazey in baseball was a TCU assistant when hired by WVU, but he had been a D-1 head coach and knew how to run a program.

2. We need a proven producer of All Americans. That’s the bottom line in scoring points at the NCAA tournament.

3. We need a coach with strong PA wrestling ties and PA familiarity; no more betting the house on mid-west recruits. We are about to miss another recruiting class unless we hire a coach who can pick out a few roses from the 2018 PA state place winners, since the PA state champs are likely already committed.

4. We need to be realistic that the new coach must think of WVU as an upgrade job from his present position.


Only logical pick...Tim Flynn of Edinboro.

Oh, and by the way, Coach Flynn has produced 38 All Americans and 3 different NCAA champions. Even coaching in the middle of nowhere, he has led Edinboro to five top ten finishes at the NCAA Division I National Championships, and 13 top 20 finishes.

No other candidate compares who would possibly accept a WVU offer.

I was surprised to say the least but life goes on!!! I consider Sammy a friend and he will land on his feet!!! I appreciate his hard work and dedication to make WV wrestling more competitive. Good luck in your future endeavors!!! George Keeney

First of all, I want to thank Coach Henson and his staff for everything done for WVU Wrestling. Wish them all the best!

The next coach will need to be able to recruit the following states for the top student athletes in this sport: WV, PA, OH, VA, MD, NJ, and NY. Nothing different than the majority of the student population. Also, I can care less if the coach has any B12 experience. Wrestling is wrestling. Let’s hope AD Lyons hires the best person to embrace the culture and elevate the program.

No surprise Edinboro has been successful at the college wrestling level. Look who their AD is.

dunbar76 wrote:No surprise Edinboro has been successful at the college wrestling level. Look who their AD is.

4X Olympic medalist Bruce Baumgartner has been the Edinboro AD since 1998, which means that for 20 years he has not been allowed to coach the wrestlers, and with Title IX as it is the AD cannot show favoritism towards one sport or another. It’s been all Flynn for two decades.

I have to tell you all I get a kick out of those who recommend guys like Ben Askren. Loved him as a wrestler and his “funk” moves, but a person who openly feuds with Dana White of the UFC on Twitter may not be mature enough.

Coaching at this level is a complicated chess game. For instance, every coach including assistants should wear ONLY WVU gear 24/7, not a U Missouri t-shirt, if you expect to sign the top recruits. Can you imagine Cael Sanderson allowing a Penn State assistant to wear an Iowa State t-shirt? It’s about being “all-in” West Virginia. Period.

AA-61

I agree, Flynn should be the top choice.
A Maryland native, wrestled at Penn State in the late ‘80’s. Has been making AA’s with little money for scholarships. Not to mention his connection with wrestlers from Pa, Ohio and NJ

And he won’t overlook WV!

Food for thought list . . .
CURRENT HEAD COACHES:
Jim Andrassy, Kent
Mark Branch, Wyoming
Joel Greenlea, Ohio U.
Troy Steiner, Fresno St.
Coleman Scott, NC

ASSOCIATES READY FOR TOP JOBS...
Damian Hahn, Cornell
John Hughes, Lehigh
Cody Sanderson, PSU

LOL, aacoach61, make no mistake an AD that understands wrestling at its highest levels is a total plus. I totally understand title IX. I agree Flynn would be an outstanding choice. Is he interested or is he totally satisfied at EU? Certainly others are interested. Lyons, I’m sure will move quickly. If not, like someone mentioned earlier another year of recruits are gone.

Last year Flynn pulled his name from consideration from the Pitt job. In a published interview he stated it would be very very hard to leave EU. LOL, I know it’s a new year, but why would where he is close to legend status? I’d be thrilled with a Flynn hire.

Some names I have seen on twitter along with the ones mentioned above,,,,, Greg Jones,,, Ryan Morningstar,,, & Jarrod Garnett but I doubt he would have the experience level to be considered, maybe an assistant possibility

More food for thought...
HC’s...
Jim Andrassy, Kent
Mark Branch, Wyoming
Joel Greenlea, Ohio U
ASSOCIATES...
Damian Hahn, Cornell
John Hughes, Lehigh
Cody Sanderson, PSU

aacoach61 wrote:West Virginia University wrestling is a sleeping giant. AD Shane Lyons is a Parkersburg guy who understands this.

The WPIAL conference, by far the best high school wrestling league in the country, starts its boundary a few miles from the Coliseum. Why our wrestling coaches don’t lock down Western PA recruiting with our outstanding facilities and great Big 12 conference is a mystery. Look what Cael did at moribund Penn State by just keeping kids home in PA. Why bring kids in from anywhere but PA, OH and WV? Look where our last 10 AA went to high school.

I wish Coach Henson the absolute best, but it was time to move on. The situation was getting worse and to have only one (8th placer) All American over the past 2 years is unacceptable.

What does Shane Lyons being a parkersburg guy have to do with this situation? My guess is that he was just another “Parkersburg” guy that doesn’t truly understand or want to understand the significance of wrestling at Wvu or anywhere for that matter.

aacoach61 wrote:I have followed college wrestling and subscribed to publications like AWN and WIN for 20 years. Here is my read:

1. We can not hire an assistant without previous head coaching experience. The learning curve is too great at the D-1 level. Coach Mazey in baseball was a TCU assistant when hired by WVU, but he had been a D-1 head coach and knew how to run a program.

2. We need a proven producer of All Americans. That’s the bottom line in scoring points at the NCAA tournament.

3. We need a coach with strong PA wrestling ties and PA familiarity; no more betting the house on mid-west recruits. We are about to miss another recruiting class unless we hire a coach who can pick out a few roses from the 2018 PA state place winners, since the PA state champs are likely already committed.

4. We need to be realistic that the new coach must think of WVU as an upgrade job from his present position.


Only logical pick...Tim Flynn of Edinboro.

Only logical pick? Really? You’re such a genius. NOT!

aacoach61 wrote:Oh, and by the way, Coach Flynn has produced 38 All Americans and 3 different NCAA champions. Even coaching in the middle of nowhere, he has led Edinboro to five top ten finishes at the NCAA Division I National Championships, and 13 top 20 finishes.

No other candidate compares who would possibly accept a WVU offer.

How’d you get so smart??