6 years in, what grade would you give the Fleck Era?

6 years in, what grade would you give the Fleck Era?

  • A

    Votes: 7 7.4%
  • A-

    Votes: 18 18.9%
  • B+

    Votes: 38 40.0%
  • B

    Votes: 24 25.3%
  • B-

    Votes: 5 5.3%
  • C+

    Votes: 3 3.2%
  • C

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • C-

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • D

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    95

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Taking all things into account, recruiting, wins/loses, BT West standings, culture, academics, rivalry success, breakthrough seasons, etc., what grade would you give?
 



B+ and based only on 2019, 2021, and 2022. Covid year doesn't count, and first two were building up.

Not an A- or A because the West (outright) title was there for the taking, with relatively easy schedules, in all three of those years and we didn't get it done.

2023 is a much tougher schedule, on par with Iowa 2022 schedule. So this will be one of the most challenging tests in Fleck's career.
 
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I went B+ and could go A-......PJ has done a remarkable job, the numbers speak for themselves. I think a new OC helps spread things out, I just hope we have the athletes to compliment AK. WR’s have to get better separation and get in a good rhythm in the offense. Lets see what PJ has up his sleeve to replace Mo, not any easy task. Hopefully his grade improves to an A next year.
 



Last three full seasons with 9 or more wins!

That’s a first in Gopher football!

So he gets an A.

He has left some food on the plate but has raised expectations and results out of the cess pool we have been in since the 60’s.

Not to say the Kill era didn’t help, but he has eclipsed Jerry’s era.

Not sure what you are comparing him to for me to be the first A. Just look at our history of season records!
 

B+. Iowa has been an outlier, but PJ has, I think, surpassed expectations significantly. He could have been a flash in the pan guy from the MAC who had a once in a lifetime season there, and based on our program's history and our luck it was more likely that he would be a flash in the pan than a consistent winner at Minny. Six years later here we are.

I've been following this team since 2002, when football generally became relevant to me, and I've loved and hated certain points since then, but I've never been so invested in the program. PJ has had a huge impact on the fanhood of my 14 year old kid and I'm hoping PJ's still here when my five year old gets old enough to really enjoy and understand the games.
 




B.
Your kid brings home a B and you don’t sit him down and ask what’s wrong, but you dont celebrate either. But if the Bs continue….
 

Our lack of recruiting hurts us. People can get excited about guys who are 3* all they want but you need classes of 50% 4* players to compete levels up.
 





I went with a B. PJ has significantly raised the bar around here, and we are a team that no one can afford to take lightly anymore.

The Good:
A: He's gotten us to finally (!) break through against Wisconsin. HUGE.
B: He's owned Nebraska.
C: He's got a perfect record in our bowl games and holds the most bowl victories in school history.
D: Academics are doing great, the culture is clean and strong, and NO scandals or off-field nonsense.
E: He generally features a strong offensive line, a strong running attack, and a feisty, active defense.
F: Most of our games are highly competitive, IE we very rarely ever get blown out.
G: He's consistently sending guys to the NFL.

The Questionable or just plain not so Awesome:
A: The 0 for Iowa. That's a definite thing, and a big one in my mind, as we are right there with them, the talent level is at least equal to if not superior, and they've been very beatable, but we just have not gotten 'er done. Exceptionally frustrating.
B: The cavalier use (or misuse) of timeouts is still a work in progress.
C: The Homecoming losses. Of all games, those should be an absolute guaranteed win, and we cannot keep hacking up our Homecoming games to the likes of Bowling Green and Purdue.
D: Rather than going for the kill, the tendency to go mind-numbingly conservative or into a shell when playing with a lead. That's still a thing, and I suspect probably always will be, as PJ is at heart a conservative minded coach.
E: The struggles with making in-game adjustments, as exemplified by his brutal record in games where we're trailing at the half. He did manage to break that 0-fer, but this is an area that needs consistent and continual improvement.

So overall, a B. I'm really happy with him and glad that he's our coach. Just keep on rowing, baby.
 


I went with a B. PJ has significantly raised the bar around here, and we are a team that no one can afford to take lightly anymore.

The Good:
A: He's gotten us to finally (!) break through against Wisconsin. HUGE.
B: He's owned Nebraska.
C: He's got a perfect record in our bowl games and holds the most bowl victories in school history.
D: Academics are doing great, the culture is clean and strong, and NO scandals or off-field nonsense.
E: He generally features a strong offensive line, a strong running attack, and a feisty, active defense.
F: Most of our games are highly competitive, IE we very rarely ever get blown out.
G: He's consistently sending guys to the NFL.

The Questionable or just plain not so Awesome:
A: The 0 for Iowa. That's a definite thing, and a big one in my mind, as we are right there with them, the talent level is at least equal to if not superior, and they've been very beatable, but we just have not gotten 'er done. Exceptionally frustrating.
B: The cavalier use (or misuse) of timeouts is still a work in progress.
C: The Homecoming losses. Of all games, those should be an absolute guaranteed win, and we cannot keep hacking up our Homecoming games to the likes of Bowling Green and Purdue.
D: Rather than going for the kill, the tendency to go mind-numbingly conservative or into a shell when playing with a lead. That's still a thing, and I suspect probably always will be, as PJ is at heart a conservative minded coach.
E: The struggles with making in-game adjustments, as exemplified by his brutal record in games where we're trailing at the half. He did manage to break that 0-fer, but this is an area that needs consistent and continual improvement.

So overall, a B. I'm really happy with him and glad that he's our coach. Just keep on rowing, baby.
Excellent summary.


On point D, I guess that PJ has had more than his fair share of getting burned by "going for it" or being "aggresive" as a coach. I don't know how else to explain it. Once, twice, thrice bitten, 37x shy?
 

Our lack of recruiting hurts us. People can get excited about guys who are 3* all they want but you need classes of 50% 4* players to compete levels up.
You get that most teams are bringing in class filled with 3 stars and only a handful of teams are capable of filling their classes with 4* and 5* recruits right?

In the Big Ten only Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State reached your 50% 4* or up threshold.

Our recruiting under Fleck is better than it has been under previous coaches. The reality of it is that we are never going to bring in the super high rated classes given our local talent base and the location of the school.

So like the majority of teams it comes down to finding the right players when you don't have the ability to go out and pick from the best of the best every year the way schools like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia....can.
 

You get that most teams are bringing in class filled with 3 stars and only a handful of teams are capable of filling their classes with 4* and 5* recruits right?

In the Big Ten only Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State reached your 50% 4* or up threshold.
And that's the only way it will ever be, because the south/SEC/Clemson/FSU/Texas/Ohio State/Michigan/PSU/USC/Oregon control college football and want that cabal/monopoly on top talent.
 

Gave it a B+. Recruiting under Fleck has been better than ever but maybe not at the level we all hoped when he was hired. However what's been better than what I expected is the player development, that was something Kill hung his hat on and it's been even better under Fleck. Three wins vs Wisconsin 3-3 overall. 5-1 vs Nebby, 4-2 vs Purdue. 3-3 vs Illinois, 3-2 vs NW, 0-6 vs Iowa. 8-9 vs the East. 14-1 in non con, 4-0 in Bowl Games. Need to win the West and beat Iowa a couple times to get to an A, but everything else checks the boxes.
 




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