University of Illinois assistant wrestling coach Carl Perry interviewed Wednesday and current Cleveland High coach Heath Eslinger interview today, according to a source familiar with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's process to hire a new wrestling coach.

The job officially became open June 30 when Chris Bono's contract was up. Bono announced in late May that he was returning to Iowa State, his alma mater, to become the Cyclones' assistant head coach.

Perry did not return a call Wednesday afternoon. Mocs athletic director Rick Hart said the interview went well.

"Like anything, until you get completely through the process it's hard to compare. You can't (compare), but it went well," he said. "We could decide something as early as Friday, but it could be next week."

Eslinger is quite familiar with UTC. He wrestled for the Mocs from 1995-2000 and served as a UTC assistant coach to Terry Brands from 2001-2004.

"I'm very happy where I am, but I'm also very interested in the possibility of being a Division I coach," Eslinger said.

A 2000 NCAA champion at 141 pounds and a two-time All-American, Perry is set to begin his eighth year as a member of the Illinois staff. The four-time NCAA qualifier wrestled at Illinois from 1996-2000. He spent one season as head coach at Yorkville High before returning to the Illini. He earned his bachelor's degree in applied life studies in May 2001 with an emphasis in sports management.

Illinois finished eighth and had three All-Americans at the 2009 NCAA tournament.

Head coach at Cleveland for the past two seasons, Eslinger was a three-time Southern Conference champion and three-time NCAA qualifier for the Mocs and was named the SoCon's outstanding wrestler in 2000. He is the school's all-time victory leader and had a 124-16 record at UTC.

Because of his time in the program as a competitor and as a coach, Eslinger is comfortable with many of the rules and regulations governing college wrestling.

"It doesn't matter whether it's TSSAA or NCAA. Rules are rules and you follow them. The question is do you pursue excellence?" Eslinger said. "The big deal in colleges right now is APR (academics). I can deal with that. I feel I can adapt and pursue excellence in any area. It's like weight certifications in high school. It's easy to figure. What's tough is getting kids to buy into your philosophy of life. If you do that, the academic side will take care of itself."