Big Ten Coaches talk anonymously about other teams.

Donate To GopherHole
NoelarBear

NoelarBear

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 3, 2019
Messages
748
Reaction score
2,394
Points
93

Minnesota​

“They’re so consistent. I would anticipate them staying at the level they’ve been at, probably not competing for the conference. I wouldn’t call them a dark horse. They won’t be in the bottom half (of the Big Ten).”

“They evaluate really well. They’re just like Illinois. Their GM (Gerrit Chernoff) is awesome. They have a really, really good personnel staff. They know exactly what their wheelhouse is, and they strike really well in it.”

“It’s funny because P.J. Fleck’s thing is ‘Row the Boat,’ which is so fitting for them because in college football, whether the decision is right or wrong, as long as everybody is in it together, you’re usually gonna do something good. That’s what they are.”
 

LOL Nebraska

“They’re in a ton of denial with the quarterback situation. Dylan Raiola is as good as they get as a player and as a person; losing him, I thought he was their last hope. He was the pin that was holding that thing together.”
Click to expand...
“I don’t imagine they’re gonna do anything special. I think five wins, maybe six wins at the most (this) year. If they hit seven, I’d be shocked.”
Click to expand...
 

And Wisconsin

“They scored 81 points in nine conference games. I don’t care who your quarterback is. That speaks to a lot of bigger issues than just the quarterback position. There are teams in the conference who could not throw a single pass and score more than nine points per game. It also speaks to, defensively, your ability to make turnovers, and special teams, your ability to make kicks. I thought it was a whole package thing.”
Click to expand...
“Truthfully, I was surprised that both Wisconsin and Maryland decided to run it back with their head coaches. I wasn’t really impressed with either one of those teams. It almost felt like they didn’t really know who the next guy was gonna be, so they decided they’d rather have a year to prepare a move like that.”
Click to expand...
 


GophersInIowa said:
I get the feeling more and more that Fleck is well respected overall. Sure some don't like his Row the Boat and everything else. But he has a system that works well for him.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think most of the criticism is personality based at this point. He just rubs some "football guys" the wrong way with the acronyms and the capri pants, but what he's done with the program meets or exceeds what most people nationally think can be accomplished at Minnesota.
 


GophersInIowa said:
I get the feeling more and more that Fleck is well respected overall. Sure some don't like his Row the Boat and everything else. But he has a system that works well for him.
Click to expand...
2nd Degree Gopher said:
Yeah, I think most of the criticism is personality based at this point. He just rubs some "football guys" the wrong way with the acronyms and the capri pants, but what he's done with the program meets or exceeds what most people nationally think can be accomplished at Minnesota.
Click to expand...
To both your points, he's extremely tenured for and his schtick hasn't changed. He's nowhere near a used car salesman as much as some people want to portray him as. Hard to not begrudgingly respect what he's done and continues to do here even from the perspective of a rival program.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I get the feeling more and more that Fleck is well respected overall. Sure some don't like his Row the Boat and everything else. But he has a system that works well for him.
Click to expand...
I feel like over time the stance on him has changed as people have come to understand that it isn't an act. Has been the case with fans and other coaches.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I feel like over time the stance on him has changed as people have come to understand that it isn't an act. Has been the case with fans and other coaches.
Click to expand...

Maybe opposing fans but not sure if that's the case with local fans + media. There are just some personalities that the locals do not fully appreciate. PJ is one of them, Joe Mauer is another. Buxton is also approaching that territory.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Maybe opposing fans but not sure if that's the case with local fans + media. There are just some personalities that the locals do not fully appreciate. PJ is one of them, Joe Mauer is another. Buxton is also approaching that territory.
Click to expand...

What about Buxton’s personality is an issue? I’ve never seen or heard a criticism about him aside from the injuries.
 



DarrenTheGreek said:
Maybe opposing fans but not sure if that's the case with local fans + media. There are just some personalities that the locals do not fully appreciate. PJ is one of them, Joe Mauer is another. Buxton is also approaching that territory.
Click to expand...
I mean it is impossible to make everyone happy....I don't sense the outright hatred for Fleck that was common early when some people got really bent out of shape everytime he opened his mouth.
There will always be people that don't like him.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I get the feeling more and more that Fleck is well respected overall. Sure some don't like his Row the Boat and everything else. But he has a system that works well for him.
Click to expand...
I think this is 100% true. The truth is, he's our weirdo, but he is kind of a goofy guy. There are small unimportant things that if he were the headcoach of another program for a decade, would be annoying.

That said, you'd have to really be in denial to not appreciate what he's done here, his players like him and he runs a clean program.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
Yeah, I think most of the criticism is personality based at this point. He just rubs some "football guys" the wrong way with the acronyms and the capri pants, but what he's done with the program meets or exceeds what most people nationally think can be accomplished at Minnesota.
Click to expand...
Agree, but unfortunately non-Minnesota expectations about what can be accomplished at Minnesota in football are low. Hence the respect for PJ’s glorious 2019 season and near-perennial top 30-35 finishes since.
 

I think the upper echelon conference coaches think PJ is harmless. When was the last time we even made any of them slightly nervous other than maybe Michigan which cratered post Harbaugh some. He wins his fair share against the rest of the conference and has absolutely no answer or fight in him for the top teams; plus Iowa almost every year.
 



BigTenGuy said:
Agree, but unfortunately non-Minnesota expectations about what can be accomplished at Minnesota in football are low. Hence the respect for PJ’s glorious 2019 season and near-perennial top 30-35 finishes since.
Click to expand...
It's not a perception.

By pure numbers, he has been the best coach we've had in 50 years. I get that might not be enough for everyone but it's not like the expectations aren't grounded in our reality.
 

Gopherchase said:
I think the upper echelon conference coaches think PJ is harmless. When was the last time we even made any of them slightly nervous other than maybe Michigan which cratered post Harbaugh some. He wins his fair share against the rest of the conference and has absolutely no answer or fight in him for the top teams; plus Iowa almost every year.
Click to expand...
2024:
Beat #11 USC
Lost by 3 to #12 Michigan
Lost by 1 to #4 Penn State

I can see how that would be too far back in history for you to remember.
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
2024:
Beat #11 USC
Lost by 3 to #12 Michigan
Lost by 1 to #4 Penn State

I can see how that would be too far back in history for you to remember.
Click to expand...
OK Penn State you got me. Michigan was seventh in the conference that year in USC 10th. Neither are power programs right now although Michigan should turn around quickly.
 

Gopherchase said:
OK Penn State you got me. Michigan was seventh in the conference that year in USC 10th. Neither are power programs right now although Michigan should turn around quickly.
Click to expand...
By this logic we shouldn't count ANY wins as "Top #xx" wins until the end of the season when final standings are determined?
 

GophersInIowa said:
I get the feeling more and more that Fleck is well respected overall. Sure some don't like his Row the Boat and everything else. But he has a system that works well for him.
Click to expand...
Agree
Top half but not competing for a conference title as a comment means they think you’re finishing. 5-4 or 6-3

Let’s hope it’s 9-3 (6-3)
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
It's not a perception.

By pure numbers, he has been the best coach we've had in 50 years. I get that might not be enough for everyone but it's not like the expectations aren't grounded in our reality.
Click to expand...

Agree he is the best Gophers coach in 50 years. I still think the ceiling at Minnesota is materially higher than PJ's performance to date. With Cignetti's success at Indiana, every other traditional BIG team has had a coach more successful than PJ in the last 50 years.
 

BigTenGuy said:
With Cignetti's success at Indiana, every other traditional BIG team has had a coach more successful than PJ in the last 50 years.
Click to expand...

Not every traditional Big Ten team. I found one right away that didn't. Pat Fitzgerald was Northwestern most successful coach of the last 50 years. He had a 52.1% winning percentage at Northwestern. Fleck has had a 60% winning percentage at Minnesota.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
Not every traditional Big Ten team. I found one right away that didn't. Pat Fitzgerald was Northwestern most successful coach of the last 50 years. He had a 52.1% winning percentage at Northwestern. Fleck has had a 60% winning percentage at Minnesota.
Click to expand...
Fitzgerald's teams played in 2 Big Ten championship games (2018, 2020) as winner of the Big Ten West, and finished ranked 5 times: 2012 (#17), 2015 (#23), 2017 (#17), 2018 (#21), and 2020 (#10).

PJ blew multiple chances to play in the Big Ten championship game, and has 1 ranked season: 2019 (#10).

IMO, Fitzgerald was much more successful at NW than PJ has been to date at Minnesota. 1 ranked season (a glorious season) in 9 years isn't much to hang your hat on.
 
Last edited:

Gopherchase said:
I think the upper echelon conference coaches think PJ is harmless. When was the last time we even made any of them slightly nervous other than maybe Michigan which cratered post Harbaugh some. He wins his fair share against the rest of the conference and has absolutely no answer or fight in him for the top teams; plus Iowa almost every year.
Click to expand...
Iowa has the upper hand against Fleck, but saying we have no fight against them is simply not true. They kicked the crap out of us last year and 2024 wasn't much better. But prior to that we won in 2023 and had extremely tight one score games in 2022 and 2021. They got us in the covid year but 2 of the first 3 matchups against Iowa during the first few Fleck years were also one score games.

It sucks losing to Iowa and Fleck's record against Iowa is not good. 4 of the 8 loses to Iowa were tight games.
 

BigTenGuy said:
Fitzgerald's teams played in 2 Big Ten championship games (2018, 2020) as winner of the Big Ten West, and finished ranked 5 times: 2012 (#17), 2015 (#23), 2017 (#17), 2018 (#21), and 2020 (#10).

PJ blew multiple chances to play in the Big Ten championship game, and has 1 ranked season: 2019 (#10).

IMO, Fitzgerald was much more successful at NW than PJ has been to date at Minnesota. 1 ranked season (a glorious season) in 9 years isn't much to hang your hat on.
Click to expand...
I would agree with that. I also think NW is harder to win at if you figure that part in. Pat has had some really bad seasons that Fleck has not had, which counts for something. I would rather have the highs and lows honestly though.
 

BigTenGuy said:
Fitzgerald's teams played in 2 Big Ten championship games (2018, 2020) as winner of the Big Ten West, and finished ranked 5 times: 2012 (#17), 2015 (#23), 2017 (#17), 2018 (#21), and 2020 (#10).
Click to expand...

Nonsense. Judging a coach only by his best seasons is foolish. If a student gets two A grades, two C grades, and a D grade, he is not an A student. The only accurate way to fully evaluate a coach is on the overall record. A losing season is as depressing as a superior season is exhilarating.
 

fatgopher said:
By this logic we shouldn't count ANY wins as "Top #xx" wins until the end of the season when final standings are determined?
Click to expand...

TwistingMyMelon said:
Nonsense. Judging a coach only by his best seasons is foolish. If a student gets two A grades, two C grades, and a D grade, he is not an A student. The only accurate way to fully evaluate a coach is on the overall record. A losing season is as depressing as a superior season is exhilarating.
Click to expand...
Dumb.
 


TwistingMyMelon said:
Nonsense. Judging a coach only by his best seasons is foolish. If a student gets two A grades, two C grades, and a D grade, he is not an A student. The only accurate way to fully evaluate a coach is on the overall record. A losing season is as depressing as a superior season is exhilarating.
Click to expand...
Nah, I'd take 4-5, 4-5 and 7-2 in a 3 year period over 5-4, 5-4 and 5-4.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Nah, I'd take 4-5, 4-5 and 7-2 in a 3 year period over 5-4, 5-4 and 5-4.
Click to expand...

Those equal the same number of wins and the same winning percentage over three years. That wasn't the case in the comparison between Fleck and Fitzgerald. Fleck clearly has had a greater overall winning percentage at Minnesota than Fitzgerald had at Northwestern.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom