The Kennedy High School wrestling program could be going back to the future if Dennis Hynek returns as head coach.

Hynek, 43, was Kennedy's head coach for nine years before stepping aside after the 2003 campaign to spend more time with his family. Now Kennedy needs a head coach again to succeed Brent Paulson and Hynek is interested.

"We'll see what happens," he said Wednesday night.

Hynek will be interviewed for the job on Friday. He teaches math at Kennedy and has remained active in school activities.

The Cougars finished third at the Class 3A state tournament during Hynek's final season in 2003. Paulson, his top assistant at the time, succeeded Hynek as head coach, and now Hynek could be the man to replace Paulson.

Hynek said he's missed the sport. "You always miss it, especially during tournament time," he said. "I missed it, but I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it because I was doing other things with the kids."

Hynek's son, David, was a young boy when he stepped aside as the head wrestling coach in 2003. David is now a junior at Kennedy and a member of the football team, but he does not wrestle.

Hynek's stepson, Gage Farmer, is a wrestler and will be a freshman at Kennedy next year, so Hynek would get to coach his stepson if he gets the assignment. "If I do happen to get the job, it just makes it a little nicer," he said.

Hynek wrestled at Cedar Rapids Prairie and for Dan Gable at the University of Iowa, although he never cracked the varsity lineup.