Scott named interim head wrestling coach at UNC
Coleman Scott came to the University of North Carolina last year with the goal of becoming a head wrestling coach for a big-time university.
Scott achieved that goal on June 12 when he received a call from UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham asking if he wanted the job. The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in freestyle wrestling at 60 kilograms (133 pounds) jumped at the offer to move from an assistant to the head coach.
Scott is now serving as the interim head coach, replacing C.D. Mock, who was fired. Cunningham stated a coaching change was in the best interest of the program, but Mock had come under scrutiny regarding comments he made on a blog after his son, Corey, was expelled from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga amid allegations of sexual assault.
Scott, the 2008 NCAA Champion at 133, declined comment on Mock’s dismissal, but he is excited to move forward in his coaching career after serving one season as an assistant.
“I was actually on the road when I got the call, and the AD asked me if I was ready,” Scott said. “I am grateful for the opportunity and excited to help these guys be the best that they can be.”
Scott’s assistants are Neil Erisman and Kyle Kiss. Erisman is a graduate of Oklahoma State, and Kiss is working for his alma mater. The 2016 Olympic hopeful is glad to be working with both assistants, and in particular, Erisman, who is a fellow Cowboy.
“It is nice to work with coaches that I have familiarity with,” Scott said. “We are in a power five conference, and I am ready to win national championships. We are not going to be satisfied with anything less.”
Scott wrestled for a strong high school squad in Waynesburg before moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to wrestle under legendary college coach John Smith. Smith has two Olympic championships under his belt and has coached five NCAA team champions (Scott was there for two), 26 individual champions (including Scott) and 102 All-Americans.
“I went to Oklahoma State to learn from Coach Smith,” Scott said. “He helped me a great deal in wrestling as a competitor and now as a coach. We talk to each other regularly.”
Scott had been in Stillwater for 10 years but decided to jump on the chance to be an assistant at UNC last year.
“It was one of the toughest decisions I had to make,” Scott said. “I had to pack up and move my wife and kids halfway across the country. However, I wanted to be a head coach, and I realized that I had a good chance to do it here. I have been a Cowboy for a long time, but now I proudly wear Carolina blue. This is a new chapter in my life.”
When it comes to recruiting, Scott is looking for strong wrestlers that are successful on and off the mat and in the classroom.
“I don’t want guys that are not going to be good students and have discipline problems,” Scott said. “We want wrestlers that will bust their butts every day and strive to get better.”
One of Scott’s incoming freshmen is Waynesburg grad AC Headlee, who won the Class AAA PIAA state championship this past season at 132. Headlee is one of the top incoming freshmen in the country, and Scott is eager to work with Headlee throughout his career but says the Waynesburg connection is only by coincidence.
“AC is in summer school right now and he is a good student,” Scott said. “However, we did not recruit him because he was a Waynesburg kid. It is just a coincidence we graduated from the same high school, but he is one of the best incoming freshmen.”
Scott admits that coaching is a change following so many years wrestling and only having to worry about himself, but now he has many different personalities to work with.
“It is definitely a change after just having to wrestle all those years and only worry about myself,” Headlee said. “Now, I have to worry about 35 guys, and they all have different personalities, but that is the name of the game. I have to get the best effort out of these kids. I do plan on being here a long time.”