Expectations

Donate To GopherHole
PoockItInfor6

PoockItInfor6

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
1,640
Reaction score
1,056
Points
113
I’m a 40ish year old. The only time in my life a national championship was in play after 9 games was in 2019. PJ Fleck is the program builder that any Gopher fan should have been hoping for. We have highly motivated student athletes who are willing to outwork our competition. We’ve been able to recruit at a level competitive with the vast majority of the conference. We have respectful, community oriented leaders up and down the roster. There has been next to nothing as far as off the field scandals. I hope PJ is our coach for the next 30 years.

All that said - If we want our Gophers to make that next step where we are on the cusp of contention, we need more money in our assistant coach pool. We need to be able to pay our coordinators after they’ve cut their teeth and established themselves. We need to be able to have more consistency from year to year on roles responsibilities and lessons learned from experience. PJ has had to replace coordinators more years than not, and we’ve been able to to navigate that while still getting to 8 wins more years than not (sometimes needing the bowl game to make that threshold), which in the 9 game B1G conference game era is a level that all but a few programs aspire to.
 




Jack jones said:
PJ will never hire coordinators that are well known (experienced). He is stubborn enough to think his ideas are the only way the Gophers play. So to hear disagreements won’t fly in his world. To avoid the conflict, he isn’t interested in bringing in someone who is battle tested.
Click to expand...
I have come to respect and like Coach Fleck, but I think this take is pretty close to reality. I think total control is with Coach.
 


Jack jones said:
PJ will never hire coordinators that are well known (experienced). He is stubborn enough to think his ideas are the only way the Gophers play. So to hear disagreements won’t fly in his world. To avoid the conflict, he isn’t interested in bringing in someone who is battle tested.
Click to expand...
How do you explain that the team is completely different schematically now compared to 2022 then?

PJ is pulling all the strings on the changes on both sides of the ball?
 

very well said. I get frustrated with PJ on occasion but when push comes to shove the bottom line is he has taken a limited-resources program and has turned it into a perennial 8 win program, with one 11 win season.

Even this year, which is a down year for MN football in my opinion, PJ has the team sitting in 7th place in an 18 team league right now (one of the two best college conferences by far).

That isn't to say it can't be or shouldn't be better. The program has the right coach - now it needs the right backing financially, especially for the assistant coaching staff. A comprehensive plan and money grubbing to compete with the upper half of the B1G in NIL power would also help.

One thing for Fleck to consider is to continually take a look inward and make sure he is changing his best too. Self evaluate his ultra conservative approach. Self evaluate his own comments that he "isn't for everyone" and realize that may be a factor at some level in the continual coaching turnover he has experienced under him, particularly for the defections that have gone to the same position with other schools. I get a lot of that has been financial. I just hope PJ is changing his best as well.
 

PoockItInfor6 said:
I’m a 40ish year old. The only time in my life a national championship was in play after 9 games was in 2019. PJ Fleck is the program builder that any Gopher fan should have been hoping for. We have highly motivated student athletes who are willing to outwork our competition. We’ve been able to recruit at a level competitive with the vast majority of the conference. We have respectful, community oriented leaders up and down the roster. There has been next to nothing as far as off the field scandals. I hope PJ is our coach for the next 30 years.

All that said - If we want our Gophers to make that next step where we are on the cusp of contention, we need more money in our assistant coach pool. We need to be able to pay our coordinators after they’ve cut their teeth and established themselves. We need to be able to have more consistency from year to year on roles responsibilities and lessons learned from experience. PJ has had to replace coordinators more years than not, and we’ve been able to to navigate that while still getting to 8 wins more years than not (sometimes needing the bowl game to make that threshold), which in the 9 game B1G conference game era is a level that all but a few programs aspire to.
Click to expand...
Agree that any $$ added should go to coaches pool. Also seems like he had the $$ and may not have spent it all, or decided to basically split it between the two OCs.
 

Jack jones said:
PJ will never hire coordinators that are well known (experienced). He is stubborn enough to think his ideas are the only way the Gophers play. So to hear disagreements won’t fly in his world. To avoid the conflict, he isn’t interested in bringing in someone who is battle tested.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe that is the case, I hear he lets his coaches coach and sticks to culture stuff
 



Gopher Ally said:
I don’t believe that is the case, I hear he lets his coaches coach and sticks to culture stuff
Click to expand...
Interesting. Great if true. I definitely want to see more coaching money so that we don’t lose an absolute stud in the making coach like Winston D because he really had those line guys playing lights out. Plus he fits Flecks culture and is all in on that due to his playing days. Might see that with Mario Sori Martin now for LBs. I have a feeling some of the top coordinators wouldn’t tolerate that culture stuff but if what you say is true maybe its just money.
 

NotAFanOfBecky said:
Interesting. Great if true. I definitely want to see more coaching money so that we don’t lose an absolute stud in the making coach like Winston D because he really had those line guys playing lights out. Plus he fits Flecks culture and is all in on that due to his playing days. Might see that with Mario Sori Martin now for LBs. I have a feeling some of the top coordinators wouldn’t tolerate that culture stuff but if what you say is true maybe it’s just money.
Click to expand...
I forgot about Winston… That was actually a huge loss
 


I think you do need some consistency at coordinator ... but you do need to move on at times.

PJ has shown the will to make changes. Unlike the Kill years ...
 



Jack jones said:
PJ will never hire coordinators that are well known (experienced). He is stubborn enough to think his ideas are the only way the Gophers play. So to hear disagreements won’t fly in his world. To avoid the conflict, he isn’t interested in bringing in someone who is battle tested.
Click to expand...
We can’t afford experienced well known coordinators.
 

Fleck gets wins, but sometimes those wins are frustrating as all hell. I guess the results are there, we've won several one-score games. this season. But there are times when either the offense or defense goes completely cold and it's maddening. Plus there's usually a game in the season where the Gophers probably should win, but don't (Bowling Green, Cal this year).

It does go back to recruiting, though, and the program will need a special group if we want another 2019. I was thinking of how loaded that team was the other day. A rotating backfield of Brooks, Smith and Ibrahim, a receiving corp. with Johnson, Bateman and a healthy CRAB, plus on defense Winfield, Coughlin, Williamson, Martin and St. Juste.
 

The Gophers have a decent shot at going undefeated at home this year. That would be the first time since 1967. That is a great accomplishment. That exceeds my usual expectations.

but

(there is always a but)

the undefeated home schedule would include wins over the following B1G teams:

18th place Purdue 0-6
17th place Michigan State 0-6
16th place Wisconsin 0-6
14th place Rutgers 1-5
12th place Nebraska 3-3

At this point in the season, that is a combined B1G record of 4-26. Granted 4 of those 26 losses to this point were at the hands of the Gophers, but again, 3 of those four were by the skin of the Gopher's two buck teeth.

What a weird year to get a home slate of opponents THIS BAD. Credit to the Gophers for turning them all (so far) into wins, but it is unlikely we will see a home slate of B1G teams this bad again for many years.

Very quirky year. Just don't blow it vs the skunks!
 
Last edited:

btowngopher said:
We can’t afford experienced well known coordinators.
Click to expand...
Again, that is just nonsense. I’ll buy into the fact that we don’t have as much NIL as other some other conference teams and that we don’t generate as much ticket revenue, but the TV money and all the rest of that that get shared equally by the conference we have plenty of money to pay more than we currently do. Our current coordinators as I’ve mentioned before would probably take the job at half the salary they are getting they have no resumes.
 

Kind of wonder about Joe Rossi, they talked on the broadcast how his whole family came with on the trip. They all apparently were very happy here.
After the game, before the review, I believe Fleck and Rossi were shaking hands on the field.
Maybe a reunion?
 

Tech Machine said:
Kind of wonder about Joe Rossi, they talked on the broadcast how his whole family came with on the trip. They all apparently were very happy here.
After the game, before the review, I believe Fleck and Rossi were shaking hands on the field.
Maybe a reunion?
Click to expand...
Defense is still doing well ... if we needed a coordinator maybe, but we don't seem to NEED to make a change.

Maybe Rossi can take over the offense ;)
 

Gopherchase said:
Again, that is just nonsense. I’ll buy into the fact that we don’t have as much NIL as other some other conference teams and that we don’t generate as much ticket revenue, but the TV money and all the rest of that that get shared equally by the conference we have plenty of money to pay more than we currently do. Our current coordinators as I’ve mentioned before would probably take the job at half the salary they are getting they have no resumes.
Click to expand...
Maybe you’re correct, I have no idea. If Fleck is choosing to hire inexperienced coaches when he has a much larger budget then that certainly seems like a problem.
 

Schnauzer said:
The Gophers have a decent shot at going undefeated at home this year. That would be the first time since 1999. That is a great accomplishment. That exceeds my usual expectations.

but

(there is always a but)

the undefeated home schedule would include wins over the following B1G teams:

18th place Purdue 0-6
17th place Michigan State 0-6
16th place Wisconsin 0-6
14th place Rutgers 1-5
12th place Nebraska 3-3

At this point in the season, that is a combined B1G record of 4-26. Granted 4 of those 26 losses to this point were at the hands of the Gophers, but again, 3 of those four were by the skin of the Gopher's two buck teeth.

What a weird year to get a home slate of opponents THIS BAD. Credit to the Gophers for turning them all (so far) into wins, but it is unlikely we will see a home slate of B1G teams this bad again for many years.

Very quirky year. Just don't blow it vs the skunks!
Click to expand...
The gophers haven’t been unbeaten at home since way before 1999

The gophers lost 3 games at home in 1999
 


Home losses by year in reverse order:
25 - 0
24 - 3
23 - 3
22 - 2
21 - 3
20 - 2
19 - 1
18 - 2
17 - 3

Claeys
16 - 1

Claeys/kill
15 - 3

Kill
14 - 1
13 - 2
12 - 3
11 - 4 (last home losing record)

Brewster
10 - 6
09 - 3
08 - 3
07 - 6

Mason
06 - 2
05 - 2
04 - 1
03 - 2
02 - 2
01 - 2
00 - 3
99 - 3
98 - 2
97 - 3

Wacker
96 - 3
95 - 3
94 - 4
93 - 3
92 - 5

Gutekunst
91 - 4
90 - 2
89 - 3
88 - 2 (and a tie)
87 - 3
86 - 3

Holtz
85 - 3
84 - 3

Salem
83 - 5
82 - 4
81 - 2
80 - 3
79 - 2 (and a tie)

Stoll
78 - 2
77 - 2
76 - 2
75 - 2
74 - 3
73 - 2
72 - 3

Warmath
71- 3
70 - 1 (and a tie)
69 - 3 (and a tie)
68 - 3
67 - 0


1967 is the year.


66 - 2
65 - 2
64 - 2
63 - 2
62 - 1 (and a tie)
61 - 2
60 - 1
59 - 3
58 - 4
57 - 2
56 - 1 (and a tie)
55 - 3
54 - 0
So warmath did it twice

Fesler
53 - 1 (and a tie)
52 - 1 (and a tie)
51 - 3
 




You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom