It's official: Heffernan leading Illinois wrestling
Dan Gable said he always felt Jim Heffernan was destined to be a wrestling “lifer.”
“It’s a good situation,” Gable, the former University of Iowa wrestling coach, said about Heffernan, who was named the 14th head wrestling coach at the University of Illinois on Tuesday. “I know that he’ll do a good job there.”
Heffernan, 45, was a four-time All-American for Gable at Iowa, winning an NCAA title in 1986. He then worked as a volunteer assistant with the Hawkeyes before embarking on his own career path, first as an assistant at Lehigh, then working with Mark Johnson, a former Iowa assistant himself, at Oregon State.
Heffernan went to Illinois with Johnson in 1992 and has been his top assistant since. Johnson retired last month.
“I kind of knew he would be a lifer in the sport when he came in,” Gable said in a telephone interview while flying from Washington, D.C., to Chicago. “He just had that passion for it.”
Heffernan is the fourth ex-Gable wrestler to land a Big Ten program, joining Barry Davis (Wisconsin), Duane Goldman (Indiana) and Tom Brands (Iowa). Northwestern Coach Tim Cysweski wrestled at Iowa when Gable was an assistant.
Gable said following Johnson won’t be easy. Johnson, with Heffernan at his side, coached the Illini to 10 Top-10 NCAA finishes in 17 seasons and had seven national champions and 45 All-Americans.
“He’s going to have to buckle down and get a little tougher than he has been probably even as assistant,” Gable said. “He’s moving up the ladder and if expects good results that commitment from him is going to make a big difference.”
Heffernan said he knows he has some “big shoes to fill.”
“Those expectations and goals are something I will continue to embrace as we continue on to the next chapter in Illini wrestling,” he said in a news release.
Gable thinks Heffernan is up for the task.
“He has a lot of good traits,” he said.
“He has paid his dues ... and he deserves this opportunity,” Johnson said in a news release.