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Discussion Topic: The future of Ohio state wrestling
Sean Koran added to this discussion on December 23, 2022
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This is a message board, the purpose of which is discussion, so I am NOT taking issue with discussion on this topic. But let's be clear, Ohio State will not be parting with Tom Ryan anytime soon unless it's because Tom decides to retire.
When OSU decided to part ways with Matta it was because the team had missed the tournament two years in a row, barely finished above .500 (17-15), and recruiting was falling off, both almost certainly as a result of Thad's serious and debilitating back problems.
Meanwhile, Tom's recent "down years" have been a 9th and 11th place finish nationally in years where other teams benefitted greatly from extra COVID eligibility as compared to OSU.
OSU experienced a worse swoon coming off Tom's initial run with the Jaggers/Pucillo/Palmer/Humphrey group, finishing 8th and then 29th (!!!), before turning things around with 5th, 6th, and 6th place finishes at nationals. Then the team went on the best 6-year run in the history of the program during which it was undoubtedly the 2nd best program in the country.
The team's performances this year have been - inconsistent. Lot's of guys seem to be dealing with injuries/weight issues. Without being in the room it's hard to know exactly what is going on. There have been some head scratching individual losses. The poor team results against UNI/at Vegas are obviously due to guys sitting out due to injury/illness and not because the team got whipped. Ultimately, those results do not matter. Tom will be judged on how the team performs at Big Ten's and nationals.
Maybe it would be beneficial to bring in a new assistant? Maybe? Who that person should be and who they should replace is huge unknown to me (and likely all of us), however, as I have no idea who is teaching what and how.
But, if Tom Ryan retired after this season, my first call would be to Casey Cunningham. Sure, he has no HC experience, but he's been the right hand man to the GOAT for 15 years now. That's very different than hiring a Taylor/Burroughs type with no collegiate coaching experience whatsoever.
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Discussion Topic: The future of Ohio state wrestling
Brian Mathews added to this discussion on December 26, 2022
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It's fine to have the discussion, but calling for Tom Ryan to be replaced borders on disrespectful, IMO.
Perhaps there is too much like-think in the room. It's hard to say. Clearly they haven't hit the ground running this season, much of that due to injury, but the season isn't over and this lineup still has a lot of potential.
The Jennings/Covelli facility took years to fundraise for and build. I think that needs to be acknowledged as money spent there is money that could have otherwise been deployed on staff (both at the school and at the RTC), and on wrestlers. I think it's time to seriously invest in the RTC to be built up alongside the young cohort they have now.
That being said, money's simply not as cheap today as it's been over the past 10 years and this isn't an easy fundraising environment.
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Discussion Topic: The future of Ohio state wrestling
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on December 26, 2022
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I think any discussion of guys you'd like to see on the Buckeye staff was a hypothetical exercise rather than a call to replace Tom Ryan. We can all agree that he has been a great success at Ohio State. National Championship (team), individuals (numerous), 4x NCAA Champ, Hodge Winner, World Champions, Olympic Champion...
But that doesn't mean something isn't wrong. It's just a question of what can/should be done about it.
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