These are probably not the only coaches in contention for a job, but they are some of the most often mentioned, and well-qualified candidates.
Bloomsburg
John Hughes: A 1995 NCAA champion or Penn State, Hughes has been on the coaching circuit since 2000 when he took a position with the Pittsburgh Wrestling Club. Since then he's put in a lengthy tenure as the head of the Nittany Lion Wrestling club, as an assistant to Troy Sunderland at Penn State, and just finished his third full season in Lehigh where he's helped head coach Pat Santoro rebuild the Mountain Hawks' winning tradition. Were Hughes to be hired he'd only be 20 minutes from his home in Stillwater, Pa.
Brad Dillon: Pat Santoro's most trusted advisor, Brad Dillon has coached with the highly successful head coach for nine years, including four years at Maryland and five at Lehigh. A widely respected coach at 30, Dillon is among the youngest of the coaches to be placing his name in contention for top jobs. Dillon is from Allentown, Pa.
Todd Beckerman: A two-time All-American at Nebraska, Todd Beckerman has been with the Maryland Terrapins program for nine seasons. Originally hired away from a two-year coaching stint by then-head coach Pat Santoro, Beckerman remained on staff when Kerry McCoy took over five seasons ago. Not only has Beckerman played a part in creating several All-Americans for the Terrapins, but he's also one of the most active and well-known advocates for social media within wrestling.
Josh Moore: Popular and charismatic, Josh Moore is a 2004 NCAA finalist from Penn State. Since graduating Moore has spent the last nine seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State. Moore's arrival sparked that program's turnaround, which has included several All-Americans and the programs first NCAA champion since 1983, Dustin Kilgore. Moore, who is from Western, Pa., had been rumored to be looking at head coaching positions in the past, but has taken few interviews, due to his stated loyalty to the Golden Flashes.
What they need: Bloomsburg is replacing an incredible mat coach in John Stutzman. His guys worked hard, stayed (mostly) out of trouble and were able to churn out All-American performances. With that as a base, the program could use an infusion of energy, like Moore's, that might help capture more Pennsylvania recruits, or the confident and well-structured leadership of Hughes and Dillon. Beckerman would bring the program into more national notoriety through his outreach. Whoever they choose, Bloomsburg needs to keep their momentum going forward, and none of these applicants pose much of a risk to the programs stability, though it'll be important to the administration to see which of these candidates provides the clearest, and most economically solvent, plan for the future.
Brown
Todd Beckerman: See above.
Brad Dillon: See above.
Jeff Buxton: Arguably the best high school coach of the last fifty years, Jeff Buxton is hoping to parlay his success at Blair into a college coaching career in Providence. A native of Rhode Island, Buxton's six national titles in 30 years at Blair stands as some testament to his overall coaching ability, to say nothing of the dozens of future NCAA champions who wrestled for him at Blair.
Jared Frayer: The 2012 Olympian and two-time NCAA All-American for Oklahoma has been on the assistant coaching circuit since 2003. He's put in stints at Harvard, Iowa, Wisconsin and currently Oklahoma. Well-liked by his wrestlers and with a string of successful weight class coaching successes, Frayer is one of the most accomplished wrestlers looking for a head coaching position this spring.
John Clark: A two-time All-American for Ohio State, John Clark has been an assistant coach at Brown for the past five seasons. An intelligent guy and capable recruiter, Clark was on staff when the Brown program was close to being dropped in 2011. The campaign to keep it alive was successful.
What they need: The Brown program has struggled for many years. There have been few wins, and even less excitement. That tradition doesn't bode well for the incumbent coaching staff, as many athletic directors look for change in these situations. Beckerman's forward thinking and Frayer's status within the community are both awesome, but it's difficult not to be intrigued by the idea of Buxton as head coach. Kevin Dresser (Christiansburg, VA Tech) is an example of how a high school coach can make an immediate impact on a major Division I program. Brown needs a major, substantive spark. Unlike other programs they need to win and win quickly, a thought that will likely guide their hiring process.
Lock Haven
Technically opens in two weeks
Scott Moore: The two-time All-American spent seven seasons as the head assistant coach at Virginia, before taking the assistant coaching position at Lock Haven in 2011. Like his brother, Josh, Scott is well-liked and has name identification in Pennsylvania. He's currently the acting head coach of the program and is from Western Pennsylvania.
Dennis Papadatos: Currently an assistant coach under C.D. Mock at North Carolina, Papadatos earned his reputation as an assistant coach at Binghamton under Pat Popolizio for five seasons where he helped coach 16 NCAA qualifiers and two All-Americans.
What they need: After the sudden dismissal of Robbie Waller, the Lock Haven fans are looking for a stable leader who can build some excitement around results. Though not well supported by the university the program has massive resources in the area and deep pocketed donors who with winning could be compelled to contribute. Papadatos was part of Binghamton's transformation and has seen what it takes to build a winning program. Moore, who saw the same thing under Garland at Virginia, might look to diversify his application by bringing on a head assistant coach with the same last name. If that happens, then there is little question that they would bring a momentum to the school that would otherwise be impossible to replicate.
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Alex Clemsen: The head assistant wrestling coach at Virginia, Alex Clemsen has been an assistant coach since graduating Edinboro in 2007 splitting time between Oregon State (two seasons) and Virginia (four seasons). The Missouri native was an All-American for Edinboro, and has been pivotal in the development of UVa's upperweights, including the program's first-ever three-time All-American, Chris Henrich.
Tony Ersland: An assistant coach for the past 13 seasons, Ersland is the most experienced candidate for any of the open positions. Currently the assistant coach at Nebraska under Mark Manning, Ersland has been the upperweights coach for some of Nebraska's biggest success stories.
Matt Lackey: A 2003 NCAA champion for the University of Illinois, Lackey has spent the last three seasons as the assistant coach at Buffalo, but was let go when head coach Jim Beichner was fired. Prior to joining the Buffalo staff, Lackey spent two years as an assistant at Lock Haven.
Jeremy Spates: Cornell assistant Jeremy Spates has been assistant coach for nine seasons, with his first five being accumulated at Oklahoma. The 2004 All-American for Missouri, Spates is from coaching royalty, as his father Jack Spates was the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma form more than twenty seasons. In addition to the consul of his father, Spates has the advantage of participating in the inner machinations of the Cornell program, arguably the best run of any Division I wrestling program.
What they need: The newest of Division I programs, SIUE needs a coach who knows how to implement the structure of a winning program. It's vital to the school, and to wrestling as a whole that the candidate chosen doesn't just focus on mat success, but also in what it takes to create fundraising and fan support. Spates' pedigree is going to be difficult for other candidates to outclass, but Clemsen has experience in a similar situation and Ersland has a mountain of understanding on how to run a big time college program.
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