Oklahoma State’s athletic director Chad Weiberg took a mental vacation in the days following wrestling coach John Smith’s announcement of retirement after 33 seasons.
A break from the actual world. There was a head coaching opening at Ohio State University wrestling for the first time in almost 30 years, so he had some time to think about the new reality in his athletic department.
While the Cowboys have more team national titles than any other NCAA athletic program with 34, they haven’t won a team crown since 2006, a conference title since 2021, or produced an individual champion since after that. As a result, Weiberg’s hiring was very dynamic. An OSU splash hire was necessary. That much was known to Weiberg.
“You can’t have unrealistically high or unreachable expectations for this program,” Weiberg warned. We just had to exhaust all possible avenues in our search for a new exceptional leader.
Accordingly, Weiberg recruited David Taylor, a former Penn State standout wrestler with an impressive resume and the moniker “Magic Man,” to fill the position, leaving the OSU “family” behind.
Moreover, the “Magic Man” uttered a promising word during Friday morning’s introductory press conference by Taylor, which was heard by OSU fans in the Boone Pickens Stadium team room.
Down here, we’re going to make our own little enchantment.
According to ocolly, Taylor is well-known among wrestling fans of all stripes. “David Taylor is your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler,” public address announcer Larry Reece of Ohio State perhaps put it best. In the same way that John Smith represents American wrestling, David Taylor is now carrying the torch.
Taylor has won a plethora of titles throughout his career, including two national championships at Penn State, the Hodge Trophy twice (making him one of just six college wrestlers in history to do so), four Big Ten titles, three world titles, and an Olympic gold medal.
David Taylor is well-known among wrestling fans, according to Weiberg. His remarkable resume is known to you.
Not only will he work well with the Cowboys, but he will also add new ideas to this groundbreaking program.
Still, Taylor’s résumé was missing one important piece: head coaching experience.
Being a successful coach can be very different from being a successful wrestler. However, Weiberg possessed an abundance of seasoned candidates to fill Smith’s position.
Weiberg mentioned that several prominent national individuals have shown interest in Ohio State’s open coaching position at Taylor’s first press conference. In addition, Weiberg might have gone with Coleman Scott, an experienced coach who was North Carolina’s head coach from 2015 to 2023 and had a 75-49 dual record during that time. With Scott at the helm, the ACC produced nine individual champions and thirteen All-Americans.
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Under his direction, the Tar Heels achieved their best postseason performance since 1995, placing twelveth at the 2023 Nationals. Scott departed from UNC before the 2023–24 season to take over as OSU’s associate head coach in Smith’s last year in Stillwater. Therefore, Scott was the obvious choice to succeed Smith, if not the guaranteed one.
Weiberg was interested in Taylor after reviewing his resume. Weiberg knew right away who was the best choice for him during their first phone call. Feelings of devotion. The assurance. What makes Taylor’s feelings so crystal evident is how succinct they are. Weiberg found it all fascinating.
Seated down, Weiberg spoke with him. After hearing his plans for the program, I truly believe he is the coach he has the potential to be. At that moment, it transpired. Even before you had the opportunity to have a serious conversation with him, you were probably aware of his qualifications and experience. Therefore, it was significant to hear their remarks.
In this new age of Cowboy wrestling, Weiberg is sure that Taylor’s hire will be successful. Taylor is as well. That was really clear on Friday.
In Taylor’s opinion, Oklahoma State is the best wrestling school. Plus, I can’t wait to contribute to that. In this post, we have given information about the “Why Did Oklahoma State Chad Weiberg Consider Candidates Beyond OSU for John Smith’s Replacement?”
Natalie Clydesdale is a journalist at oklahomansdecide.org, where she covers crucial local and state news with a focus on accuracy and depth. Her extensive experience in investigative reporting ensures readers receive clear and reliable information. Follow her latest updates on Instagram.
