BRANDS BACK IN BLACK & GOLD
Will Gable be back with him?
By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Legendary coach Dan Gable will be involved in some capacity with Tom Brands and the Iowa wrestling program.
Now the question is how will Brands utilize his mentor?
Brands all but ruled out the possibility of having Gable on his coaching staff Wednesday after the second-year Virginia Tech coach was introduced as Iowa’s new head coach.
“I don’t think he wants to do it, “Brands said. “I think it’s been discussed, and it’s been discussed for years. But we’ll use him. Tom Brands will seek Dan Gable’s counsel.”
Nearly an hour later, Gable wasn’t so quick to dismiss the possibility of returning to the Hawkeye corner if that’s where his former pupil wants him.
“There are options, “Gable said. “That’s one of the options.”
Gable said the other options are taking a role between Brands and associate athletic director Fred Mims or getting into a position where he is strictly available when Brands wants to seek his advice.
Brands said his first step as the new Hawkeye coach is sitting down and listening to what the Iowa wrestlers have to say about the program. The second item on his agenda is going through the process of assembling a coaching staff.
“We’ll look at applicants from across the country, but we’ll also look at some of my staff at Virginia Tech, “Brands said. “I know they’re interested.. But regardless of what the staff is, having Gable down the hall is not a distraction.”
Brands’ staff is likely to include his current Virginia Tech assistants Wes Hand and Doug Schwab, a pair of former Hawkeyes.
“I have a great relationship with my staff, “Brands said. “There’s nobody better. Wes Hand is top-notch, and I give him a lot of credit for being very aggressive in recruiting to the point where we’ve out-recruited the nation. And I give Doug Schwab immense credit for being a huge example in the wrestling room.”
Brands also might look to incorporate members of the previous regime such as volunteer assistant Mike Zadick and administrative assistant Cliff Moore. There is speculation that his staff might one day include his twin brother, Terry, the freestyle resident coach at USA Wrestling.
“Terry has a job to do in Colorado Springs, Colorado, “Tom said before a moment of levity during his introductory press conference. “He’s got to beat Russians and Iranians and Turks and Bulgarians.”
Meanwhile, the top mission for Tom Brands is finding a way to beat the Cowboys. Oklahoma State coach John Smith’s program has won the past four NCAA titles.
Iowa owned the college wrestling spotlight Wednesday by hiring Brands.
“What really puts the spotlight on you is doing what John Smith is doing, doing what Gable did, “Brands said. “We want to be in the spotlight. We don’t want to be in the spotlight just because we’re hiring some hotshot guy from Virginia who won an Olympic champion.”
Adding Gable to the coaching staff might deflect more of the glare toward the Hawkeyes next season.
“That’s an option I’ll look at, “Gable said. “I know what I’m not doing. I’m not going to get back into where I was as a head coach, and that’s obviously not open. I’ve been through that; I’m working on the sport nationally and worldly.”
Gable said his current attention is focused on a handful of programs that are either hiring head coaches or potentially dropping their program.
“That’s a big issue of mine and I’m not getting away from that. I can’t, “he said. “Even if I get involved with coaching, I can’t get away from the total sport, so I’ve got to have some time for that.”
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or ahamilton @ press-citizen.com.
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