American Wrestling Legend Urged to Drop Things and Join Iowa as Fans Demand Hawkeyes to Secure Coaching Services

Well, for starters, he’s a name that everyone in American wrestling knows and respects. But how good was he? He was good enough to win four NCAA Division I National Championships at Cornell from 2010 to 2013. But what’s the big deal about that? Well, get this: he’s the only wrestler ever to win those four titles in four different weight classes! But now he is once again in the news. Not for his titles and his championship victories. No, this is all because of a viral post by FloWrestling that lit a firestorm of speculation. But what was it?

Well, it was simply a post that read, “Will we ever see Kyle Dake be a D1 head coach?” The post, featuring an image of Kyle Dake on the sidelines with the caption “Coach Kyle Dake? I’ve been thinking about…,” has fans buzzing about the possibility of the 34-year-old legend taking the helm at the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes’ fanbase, hungry for a return to their program’s glory days, sees Dake as the savior to restore Iowa’s dominance. 

Will we ever see Kyle Dake be a D1 head coach? #frl pic.twitter.com/5C1iZBi8QJ

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) April 4, 2025

But like we were saying, going from being an amazing wrestler to running a whole program is a big leap. Dake himself has thought about this a lot, even saying in an interview, ‘I have been thinking about coaching since I graduated from college. I mean, I coached after college for a long time. I thought I was going to be the head coach of Cornell wrestling. I thought I was going to do that—that was my goal after I graduated.’ So, he’s had coaching on his mind for a while, though it sounds like his original plan was to stay at Cornell.

But getting back to the fans, what’s making them so excited about the idea of Dake coming to Iowa City? You know, it makes you wonder why some folks think Kyle Dake would be a great fit for the Iowa wrestling program. Well, it’s probably because, even though the Hawkeyes have this incredible history with tons of Big Ten and NCAA titles,. With 37 Big Ten titles and 24 NCAA championships, they’ve been wrestling royalty for a while now. And the man responsible for this reign of dominance?

Well, none other than coach Tom Brand, who’s been their talisman of success since 2007. So this raises the question, why Dake, when everything is already working for them? Well, that’s because Dake is simply unparalleled when it comes to collegiate wrestling, bar a few. He is a 4-time NCAA champion for Cornell, not to mention the third to ever do it. But if that’s not enough, he even snagged the Hodge Trophy in his last year back in 2013. So now it is pretty clear just why Iowa is interested in him.

But that’s not all. What’s left, you ask? Well, did we mention he also has an Olympic bronze and four world championships as well? But just winning as a player doesn’t mean it will work as a coach, right? Well, that’s why it is interesting to note that Dake also had a stint as an assistant coach at his beloved Cornell for a few seasons. Yet again, another cherry on top for Iowa to want to get him.

But now here’s the thing: Dake himself isn’t all that sure about a coaching role. Why? Well, in his own words, “Is it worth it to be the head coach of a program that big? I’ve got other stuff I want to do too, you know?” Now we all know it makes sense. After all, being a coach means being the rudder of a team’s success and failure. And while an assistant coach has some of that weight, being the Mat Boss is a whole different ball game. It seems even Kyle Dake himself is aware of the crushing weight.

He even talked more about it, saying something like, ‘Yeah, I wanted to be head coach, but you know, life happens, things change, and now I’m in State College after being an athlete for so long and having a family. It was like, man, I just don’t know anymore.’ But even with all that, you know how passionate wrestling fans are, especially in Iowa. They want to see Kyle in that head coach chair, and it sounds like they’re making their voices heard more and more.

Fans Envision Kyle Dake as Iowa’s Wrestling Savior, Debate Financial Incentives

And speaking of fans getting loud, the video on FloWrestling that got everyone talking was about Kyle Dake maybe becoming a Division I head coach. It totally lit a fire under wrestling fans, especially the ones who bleed black and gold for Iowa. A lot of them think Dake is exactly what the Hawkeyes need to get back to their winning ways.

You see comments like, “Very well could be at Iowa in some capacity,” which kind of shows that even with the uncertainty, people think his background and what he’s accomplished just line up with what Iowa’s looking for. Then you’ve got other fans who are being a bit more blunt, with one even saying straight up, “If Iowa got rid of Brands and got Dake, they would be legit again.”

You can kind of hear the frustration with Coach Brands in that, even though he’s won some national titles for them. And some fans are really going all out with their ideas! One person even suggested this dream team scenario, saying, ‘Dake and Spencer Lee should take over for the Brands Bros,’ which is like, wow, they’re imagining a whole new coaching staff with Dake and another Iowa legend, Spencer Lee, taking over from both Tom and Terry Brands.

But then you have to ask, what would it actually take to make all this fan talk a reality? Well, when you look at what the fans are saying, money seems to be a huge part of the conversation when it comes to getting Dake to Iowa City. One person even had a specific idea, saying, ‘If Iowa was smart, they’d drop brands and take some of those unallocated funds and throw him an offer.’

So, they’re thinking Iowa needs to pull out all the stops financially to get someone like Dake. And that idea about the money is catching on with other fans, with one even commenting, ‘Definitely could see it happening for the right amount of $$$,’ so it sounds like a lot of people think a big offer could be key. But then you get a slightly different take from another fan who said, ‘Nope, that dude knows what he wants, but money can talk sometimes,’ suggesting that while Dake has clear goals

And you can see that business side of him too, because he’s been a part-owner of this Vitality Wellness Club in State College since 2024. So, it’s clear he’s got an entrepreneurial spirit, which makes you think a really good financial offer from Iowa could get his attention. But what about his coaching background? He was a volunteer assistant coach at Cornell for a few years, from 2013 to 2017.

Could that experience tip the scales and make him want to take on a head coaching job? Dake himself has talked about enjoying coaching, saying, “I enjoyed working one-on-one with guys, helping them a lot, and that’s a part of coaching.” Yet, he also acknowledged the demands, noting, “I know what it takes to be a very good coach, having been around Coach Rob Koll, Mike Grey, and Cael, they never take time off. It has both positives and negatives.” So, what makes Dake the ideal candidate in the eyes of these fans?

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