It’s a whole different challenge to be a head wrestling coach at a school like Harvard, Stanford, Navy, Army, Cornell, etc than it is at other universities. Sure Brands has as much pressure and probably greater expectations than any other coach in the country, but Tom also has enormous resources, support staff, strong backing from the university, etc. The challenges are simply different.
Wes’s experience both as a wrestler and as a coach are not comparable to what he will face at Stanford. Granted, Iowa and Va Tech are good schools; neither is close to Stanford. I venture to say less than 15% of Iowa’s roster could get into Stanford. Recruiting for Stanford is far different than recruiting for Iowa or Va Tech. His scholarships allotment will be far less than the 9.9 NCAA max.
Lastly, I will repeat my statement about Wes not fitting the Stanford mold. He does not comport himself in a manner expected of Stanford coaches. I’ve seen Wes pitch a fit after Fields lost on a controversial call and aggressively berate the official after the match. I just don’t believe the Stanford brass and alumni would want a coach behaving like that while representing the school. At Stanford, it’s not all about wins and losses; it’s more about developing young men and women for life. I don’t think Wes Hand fits the mold.
Oh, I can promise you, at Stanford, Bowlsby does not have full discretion over all hiring decisions. Given his background and his knowledge of the sport, I'm sure he's given lots of discretion on this hire. But no way does he have full discretion.
Last edited by ArmyFan; 07-11-2008 at 01:10 AM..
Reason: corrected the format... and added one more paragraph
Considering Stanford is not fully funded, you're right, the coach won't have the full 9.9. At schools "like that," you're looking for admissions spots, not as much for scholarships. Just because a coach had one set of challenges at one school doesn't mean that he couldn't take on those challenges at another. I've seen Kerry McCoy throws some fits, too. He seemed to do alright.
Considering Stanford is not fully funded, you're right, the coach won't have the full 9.9. At schools "like that," you're looking for admissions spots, not as much for scholarships. Just because a coach had one set of challenges at one school doesn't mean that he couldn't take on those challenges at another. I've seen Kerry McCoy throws some fits, too. He seemed to do alright.
Kerry is as intense as the next guy, but he seems to keep his emotions in check. I've never seen Kerry act out like I've seen Wes. Kerry has always conducted himself as a gentlemen when I've seen him.
I know 'em both, and they're both nothing less than gentlemen. It doesn't seem like you know Wes from anything than seeing him on a wrestling mat, therefore, you don't really have the information to make such a judgment.
I know 'em both, and they're both nothing less than gentlemen. It doesn't seem like you know Wes from anything than seeing him on a wrestling mat, therefore, you don't really have the information to make such a judgment.
Please tell me what you know about Wes -- that I don't -- that makes him a good candidate for the head coaching job at Stanford. So far you've cited the AD at Stanford has ties to Iowa Wrestling. Is there anything else that makes Wes a good candidate?
Please enlighten me, bluestater, since my lack of information and judgment are so poor.
Please tell me what you know about Wes -- that I don't -- that makes him a good candidate for the head coaching job at Stanford. So far you've cited the AD at Stanford has ties to Iowa Wrestling. Is there anything else that makes Wes a good candidate?
Please enlighten me, bluestater, since my lack of information and judgment are so poor.
- Coaching experience at Virginia Tech and Iowa, including a national championship at Iowa
- Excellent recruiting skills, including recruiting under tough circumstances. Wes was at VT before Brands got there, remember?
- Since Army Fan brought into question character, Wes is a great guy and absolutely a gentleman.
Your judgment is not poor, but lacking information. You threw out there "doesn't fit the Stanford mold" when you don't know the guy at all. As I said in my PM, I don't think Wes is going to Stanford because the announcement would have been made by now. I just don't think it's right for you to say a man isn't a gentleman, or slam him, when you don't even know him beyond seeing him on the mat. Coaching wrestling is much more than sitting on the side of a mat.
Apparently the search for a replacement has even extended to downtown Hartford. Just the other day, a strangely dressed woman offered me the Hand job, but I told her I didn't think I had enough coaching experience.
- Coaching experience at Virginia Tech and Iowa, including a national championship at Iowa
- Excellent recruiting skills, including recruiting under tough circumstances. Wes was at VT before Brands got there, remember?
- Since Army Fan brought into question character, Wes is a great guy and absolutely a gentleman.
Your judgment is not poor, but lacking information. You threw out there "doesn't fit the Stanford mold" when you don't know the guy at all. As I said in my PM, I don't think Wes is going to Stanford because the announcement would have been made by now. I just don't think it's right for you to say a man isn't a gentleman, or slam him, when you don't even know him beyond seeing him on the mat. Coaching wrestling is much more than sitting on the side of a mat.
Sorry to pile on here, but your post reminded me of some past conversations regarding Hand. Many of the points you addressed about Hand's experience are valid and point towards his ability as an effective coach. What would concern me is that I have had three seperate people (Doctor, Journalist, and Govt. Official who I've dealt with through work) at different times who all attended U of Iowa. Let's face it, because they went to U of Iowa the conversation always evolves towards wrestling. All three people started off the conversation of wrestling in the same manner and before championships, Gable, Brands, Z, or any other topic is discussed....the first thing they ask is "Do you know who Wes Hand is?" I reply "Of course." The rest is either a story of how they got in multiple fights with Hand at the bar during college, or he treated some friend of theirs rudely, or he was generally not a gentleman as was stated.
He's probably grown out of it as we all tend to do over time, but when three random strangers address Hand's bad behavior as their first Hawkeye wrestling bullet-point....speaks towards something problematic.
Apparently the search for a replacement has even extended to downtown Hartford. Just the other day, a strangely dressed woman offered me the Hand job, but I told her I didn't think I had enough coaching experience.
Did the "woman" look like this?
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