What grade would you give PJ Fleck, 3 years into his tenure at the U?

What grade would you give PJ Fleck, 3 years into his tenure at the U?

  • A

    Votes: 200 87.0%

  • B

    Votes: 30 13.0%

  • C

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • D

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • F

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    230
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Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of the hiring of Fleck. What grade would you give PJ Fleck, 3 years into his tenure at the U?
 


There have been some ups and downs as there will be with any coaching staff and there is always room for improvement, but in just his 3rd season he guided the team to an 11-2 record, co-champions of the division, CFP contender, 2 wins over top 10 teams, college gameday....

Would be tough to justify anything other than an A to this point in his run at the U of M.
 






B
Being 1-5 in against our two biggest rivals and no Big West Title doesn't deserve an A.
 

B+ or A- While being 11-2 is "A" worthy and the creation of the culture is also an "A" = recruiting, branding, etc. I can't commit to an "A" because the only way that would be achieved would have been if he signed a contract with a 10 million buyout that lasted beyond this year. I am sure this was done by the agent so there is room to renegotiate after PJ demonstrates this year was not a "one hit wonder." Still, hard to give an "A" without the deep commitment that this is the beginning of a long term culture creation.
 



I find it hard to believe that anyone 3 years ago would be able to look at what he has done and not deem it worthy of an A. Who really expected that we would be CFP contenders with 2 top-15 wins and hosting Gameday? The fact that people are still wanting more shows how the expectations for the program have changed.

An A doesn't mean perfect. What classes have you taken that require 100% for an A? The rivalry record is an obvious stain, but Iowa and Wiscy are consistently the top 2 teams in the West. It's not like his predecessors had much success there anyways.
 

gophernut1 said:
B+ or A- While being 11-2 is "A" worthy and the creation of the culture is also an "A" = recruiting, branding, etc. I can't commit to an "A" because the only way that would be achieved would have been if he signed a contract with a 10 million buyout that lasted beyond this year. I am sure this was done by the agent so there is room to renegotiate after PJ demonstrates this year was not a "one hit wonder." Still, hard to give an "A" without the deep commitment that this is the beginning of a long term culture creation.
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Very strange. What does a buyout amount have to do with his coaching/program development performance?
 

MNVCGUY said:
There have been some ups and downs as there will be with any coaching staff and there is always room for improvement, but in just his 3rd season he guided the team to an 11-2 record, co-champions of the division, CFP contender, 2 wins over top 10 teams, college gameday....

Would be tough to justify anything other than an A to this point in his run at the U of M.
Click to expand...
DODa_x9V4AAIuxo
 

GFBfan said:
B
Being 1-5 in against our two biggest rivals and no Big West Title doesn't deserve an A.
Click to expand...

Will give you the rival thing but he does have a Big Ten West Title. It isn't outright but we were co-champions of the West this past season even if some refuse to see it the same way the Big Ten does.
 



Hard for me to give an A, so I voted B

Holding him back from an A
Robb Smith Hire-He was a bad DC at Arkansas. Hire didn't make sense and our defense was a disaster. But it was a mistake he corrected
No appearances in Indy-I get 3 years is short leash, but frustrating that you needed one win vs one of your biggest rivals, and we're in indy
He hasn't come to my house for dinner to discuss my thoughts on Gophers


But a B by no means I'm even remotely unhappy with Fleck or the the trajectory I feel we're on.
 

WriterGoph said:
Very strange. What does a buyout amount have to do with his coaching/program development performance?
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Good question. Everything Fleck has said and done to this point shows a deep commitment to the University of Minnesota and a desire to be here for a long long time.
 

Recency bias will probably affect this poll. Definite A for 2019.
 

C would have been 6-7 win seasons, Quick Lane bowls
B would be 8-9 win seasons
A would be 10+ wins

Definitely an A after year 3. Exceeded expectations. Defeated two teams with much more talent on paper. Won at Sconnie.

An A+ of course would have been a better game plan at Iowa and a Rose Bowl bid but as much as the rivalry losses stung 90% of that is forgiven with the paddling of the Tigers.
 


High B. Beat a rival (IA, WI, or MI) each year and it's an A.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Will give you the rival thing but he does have a Big Ten West Title. It isn't outright but we were co-champions of the West this past season even if some refuse to see it the same way the Big Ten does.
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That's right, thanks for the correction,
Amend my grade to a B+
 

Pompous Elitist said:
C would have been 6-7 win seasons, Quick Lane bowls
B would be 8-9 win seasons
A would be 10+ wins

Definitely an A after year 3. Exceeded expectations. Defeated two teams with much more talent on paper. Won at Sconnie.

An A+ of course would have been a better game plan at Iowa and a Rose Bowl bid but as much as the rivalry losses stung 90% of that is forgiven with the paddling of the Tigers.
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His grade by each year using your criteria would be:
2017 D
2018 C
2019 A
I agree with those and feel a B to a B+ overall because of the improvement that has been made would be warranted. An A overall just isn't right.
 


GFBfan said:
B
Being 1-5 in against our two biggest rivals and no Big West Title doesn't deserve an A.
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What?! No instant dominance, Rome should have been built in a single day and I'm darn disappointed that it was not! What a hair ball. ?
 

Veritas said:
What?! No instant dominance, Rome should have been built in a single day and I'm darn disappointed that it was not! What a hair ball. ?
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Why are you so offended? The question is what grade overall. We have improved from year one to year three and this year was exceptional, but to say he should get an A for his entire time would be grade inflation.
Definite A for this year, though and he has us on a positive trajectory.
 

Ski U Master said:
High B. Beat a rival (IA, WI, or MI) each year and it's an A.
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I'd take two wins over Top 15 teams over a win over a rival each year if given the choice. Does anyone remember how few Top 15 wins we have had the past three decades?
 

Any grading scale is confounded by expectations and the presence or absence of a “Gopher curve”. Considering the historical records broken and post desegregation mediocrity has to be an A IMO due to the clear upward trend after a really rough start. Fair to quibble A- to A+.

If no Gopher curve then sure B grade makes sense. No Rose Bowls, no CFP, slightly above average overall winning percentage.
 

I gave him an A. For the most part, everything appears to be working out according to his plan he laid out for Coyle and the fans...including that zig-zaggy chart that climbs and then dips a little, but overall is on an upward trajectory. Plus...
- First 11-win season since the time automobiles got 40 rods to the hogshead.
- ESPN now knows where the U of M campus is.
- Channels 4, 5, 9, and 11 sports segments actually included video when they discussed a Gopher football story. Sometimes they even included an interview with a player.
- Friends of mine have actually purchased U of M apparel and are wearing it. They even brought up the fact that there is a channel on cable that carries nothing but Big 10 sports, and that an old coach of ours is on one of the shows. (They were, however, disappointed that a ticket for a game now costs more than a 30-pack of Stroh's but that is something I think they'll learn to accept.)
- They won the Governors Bell and didn't break it this time.
- Brought home the Axe and then paraded it around the state, allowing people of all ages to finally bask in its glory as if it were the Ark of the Covenant.
- Paul Allen learned to say "Minnesota Gopher football" without sounding like he had just smelled a fart in the studio.

Lots of good things.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
...
- Friends of mine have actually purchased U of M apparel and are wearing it. They even brought up the fact that there is a channel on cable that carries nothing but Big 10 sports, and that an old coach of ours is on one of the shows. (They were, however, disappointed that a ticket for a game now costs more than a 30-pack of Stroh's but that is something I think they'll learn to accept.)
...
Lots of good things.
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Well done! :)
 


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