With millions of dollars in the name, image, and likeness fund, a handful of top-ranked wrestlers transferring to take it, and thousands of fans rallying around in support, the Iowa men’s wrestling program can’t escape the shadows of second place.

While the “Fire Kirk Ferentz” and “Fire Fran McCaffery” conversations sometimes hold merits, I doubt they do with men’s wrestling coaches Tom and Terry Brands. I’m not going to tell two Olympic medalists how to coach, but it’d be wrong to stand aside without offering a thought or two in return.

Penn State has a frighteningly firm grip on the collegiate wrestling world, especially as its 30-8 win over Iowa on Jan. 31 essentially guaranteed another NCAA title for head coach Cael Sanderson. But that’s the cyclical nature of sports — and the Hawkeyes need to find a way to cut that reign short and fill the power vacuum when it opens.

This program is still successful under Tom and Terry, known collectively as “TnT.” That includes national titles in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2021. But in contrast to legendary Iowa head coach Dan Gable’s 15, anything shy of that is disappointing.

So it starts with Gable. One of the greatest wrestling minds ever, he still sits front row in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, just as invested in the program as he was at its head decades ago. While wrestling fans on social media call for a shift from the past, the Hawkeyes need to use their most valuable resource — Gable.

Sure, the sport has evolved since his days. But that doesn’t mean TnT can’t modernize his vision. If it works, don’t fix it. Fifteen NCAA titles sounds like it works. Emphasize it.

“There’s always ways of motivating yourself to higher levels,” Gable once said. “Write about it. Dream about it. But after that, turn it into action. Don’t just dream.”

Action. The Brands way of wrestling — aggressive, in your face — made this program so successful. TnT defined a style of hard attacks, power, and wrestling to win, not to avoid losing. Austin DeSanto had it. Spencer Lee had it. Michael Caliendo has it. Patrick Kennedy has it.

And Brands has his eyes on it too.

“I know that we have to work harder at scoring points overall,” Tom Brands said after the dual with Illinois Jan. 17.

So his guys shouldn’t come out of the tunnel unprepared, stalling, and passive. Go out to shoot and attack. Light a fire in the team. Wrestle to win. And TnT need guys to do that.

“The first period is won by the best technician; the second period is won by the kid in the best shape,” Gable said in another of his famous quotes. “The third period is won by the kid with the biggest heart.”

That’s recruiting. There, top-ranked 2026 prospect Bo Bassett has it — the technical skill to pick up a technical fall win in a matter of minutes, the dedication to the grind, and the greed for something more than the money.

“Obviously, NIL is a piece of it, but I am more focused on the wrestling,” Bassett told FloWrestling. “I am valuing more so what the program can give me and where I want to be with my goals and my dreams.”

So his commitment to the Hawkeyes on Feb. 4 is unfathomably huge. One of the most highly anticipated wrestling recruits in recent memory, this is the next Spencer Lee, arriving in Iowa City to save this program. But that success needs to be maintained, which requires a Bassett at each weight.

That means advertising the latest successes. Every recruit should know Spencer Lee won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics because he stuck with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. Recruits are looking for the international stage too. Show them what you can achieve by being a Hawkeye.

That also means keeping in-state talent. Bassett, coming from Pennsylvania, was a massive snag from Penn State. But the Hawkeyes can’t afford the loss of top Iowa wrestling recruit Dreshaun Ross from Fort Dodge to Oklahoma State. Build a better pipeline to Iowa City.

“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold,” Gable also famously said. “They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”

The name, image, and likeness era dilutes that. There’s no doubt money runs the whole gambit now. While it’s now necessary to dish out the money to keep the Hawkeyes attractive, the program can’t go blind. Stay in the transfer portal and use the funds to bring guys in, sure, but don’t let the money dictate.

TnT need guys who want it. And those are the guys sticking with the team and fighting for a spot, working every day for the chance. Letting a transfer pop in and steal the spotlight on his own terms sends the opposite message. That’s not the Brands way. Development has always benefited Hawkeye athletics.

I might not have the answer, and Brands might not have it either. But the conversation needs to start should the Hawkeyes want to keep Iowa City “Wrestletown, USA.”