Staff Photo by Brett Clark
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling coach Chris Bono, right, and assistant coach Israel Silva, left, watch the action during a match against Virginia Military Institute.

The groundwork to find a replacement for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling coach Chris Bono began before the general public was aware that Bono had decided to return to Iowa State as assistant head coach.

“We have already begun the process, especially with some of the formalities — updating the job description, developing some of the characteristics we’ll be looking for and communicating with Human Resources about advertising the job,” athletic director Rick Hart said Wednesday evening.

Bono was introduced at a news conference Thursday afternoon at Iowa State, but he will remain at UTC through the rest of this month and likely will be involved in identifying his successor.

“I asked that he help me with the search because he is someone I trust and someone who knows the industry in our program,” Hart said. “We will probably form a (search) committee.

“This is an open search. There are no preconceived notions on who the next coach is going to be. We’re developing a list of people from whom we wish to have input. With this particular search, I think it’s important that we are inclusive and seek input from some of our constituents. We want to find a way for them to maintain a sense of ownership without compromising the integrity of the search.”

Allan Jones said he has no desire to be involved in the process, but he is one upon whom Hart has called in the past. The Cleveland businessman has been one of the program’s major financial supporters the last few years.

“I am a donor and I am not involved in the day-to-day operations, but I still have a passion for UTC wrestling,” Jones said. “People think I’m involved, but I’m not. I probably haven’t talked with Chris in a year. I told Rick that I really don’t need to be involved but that I would help him if I could.”

Jones said he believes UTC needs to find a coach with national stature to continue the Mocs’ rise under Bono, but he prefers to be no more than an adviser.

“In the past they might have needed some help, but Rick is very capable of finding the right name,” Jones said. “If he calls me I can tell him what I know, but I think he can handle it. I would be very confident in Rick’s choice. He has demonstrated that he knows what he is doing.

“Picking a coach is like homework. I didn’t like homework in school, and I don’t want any more homework.”

The search process may be concluded or near conclusion before Bono departs.

“I don’t think we’ll need to name an interim coach,” Hart said, “because Chris will be here the rest of the month and this is a time when there are not a whole lot of team activities. We’ll move quickly.

“The goal from the onset is to minimize the gap in leadership. It’s my hope that by the time Chris leaves we’ll be close to identifying the next head coach. It will be a thorough process, but we’ll move expeditiously to close that leadership gap.”