One of Ohio State's top assistant coaches is going "home" to Nebraska. Olympic bronze medalist and longtime world freestyle team member announced Thursday that he was leaving the OSU and Ohio Regional Training Center staffs to become the head coach of the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center, located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
"With a big portion of my family living in Nebraska, it has always felt like home and my family and I have always hoped we could find our way back," Dlagnev said in a statement distributed by Ohio State. "I hope to take everything I have learned from my time at The Ohio State and help add to the already amazing legacy of the NWTC."
Thank you, Tervel. On to the next chapter. #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/7PykhVw6qe
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 25, 2021
Dlagnev was a two-time NCAA Division II champion at Nebraska-Kearney, and will take over an Olympic training program known for world-class athletes Jordan Burroughs and James Green. He joined the Ohio State staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2016-17 season, and was officially the head coach of the Ohio RTC, as well, after having wrestled under the Ohio RTC banner for nearly a decade.
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan told Eleven Warriors that Dlagnev's departure had been in the works for some time, but the team waited until after the season to announce his new opportunity.
"The foundation of the Ohio State wrestling program is built on people. Good people," Ryan said in a statement. "We have been blessed by Tervel Dlagnev for 12 amazing years. He stands for all that is good and right. I have personally watched him grow from a good college wrestler to an elite one. From a college walk-on to a two-time Olympian and bronze medalist."
A message from Coach Ryan. We are excited about the future of Ohio State wrestling#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/l7PgJu1nbf
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 25, 2021
Dlagnev's departure is the first major shakeup of the Ohio State staff since assistant coach Lou Rosselli left to become the head coach at Oklahoma in 2016. Ohio State did not announce Dlagnev's replacement; Ryan's statement noted that an announcement would be made "in the coming weeks."
One logical candidate to be the "next man up" is four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber, currently listed as an assistant coach on the Ohio RTC staff. Stieber been well-connected to the program since retiring from competitive wrestling as an athlete, and for fans concerned about Ohio State's need to get better at folkstyle mat skills, the prospect of having one of the university's all-time great athletes on the coaching staff should be welcome news.
If he indeed joins Ryan's staff, he will be the latest seed in Ryan's fast-growing coach tree, a tree that included at least eight former Buckeyes on a college staff last season. Even with a potential home-run replacement, the loss of a great coach like Dlagnev is bittersweet at best.
"We can't keep them all," Ryan told Eleven Warriors on Thursday regarding Dlagnev's departure. "When you love your people, you want to see them have great opportunities."
Dlagnev hasn't posted on Twitter since last summer, but his wife Kirsten shared her thanks for their time in Columbus:
We will always love our buckeye family! Thanks for making this place feel like home for the past decade and supporting us in our decision to head back to our family!
— Kirsten (@dlagnevke) March 25, 2021
Ryan, in his official statement, noted that he is excited about the future of Ohio State wrestling and the staff that will lead them moving forward.
"The culture and system at Ohio State has helped develop some of the nation's finest people," Ryan said. "We plan to continue to attract the world's best talent and to develop it to its fullest potential."
