All Things P.J. Fleck Rumor Mill Thread - Listed as Candidate for Other Jobs

[BleedGopher]

We have a Pitino rumor mill thread on the hoops board, I have a feeling we'll see a lot of "Fleck is a candidate at XYZ" program, even in spite of our challenging season.

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

The Florida student newspaper is first out of the gate, listing Fleck as one of 5 candidates for the now open Florida job:

5. P.J. Fleck, head coach, Minnesota

Fleck spent four years at Western Michigan, where he turned around a cellar-dweller Broncos program from 1-11 his first year to 13-1 with a Cotton Bowl berth in his final year. He was arguably the hottest commodity on the college-coaching market a year ago, and even though he’s only in his first year at Minnesota, Stricklin could still make a call to gauge his interest.

Fleck is only 36 years old.

http://www.alligator.org/sports/article_cb038454-bd3e-11e7-bcbc-df2641570e36.html

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Tampa Times columnist on the opening:

If this was last year, I would have already hired P.J. Fleck away from Western Michigan. Minnesota did, and Fleck is only 1-4 in the Big Ten, but his energy is overwhelming. I'd give Fleck a shout.

http://www.tbo.com/sports/college/f...re-are-coaches-for-gators-to-consider/2342796

Go Gophers!!

 

[hungan1]

I am certain PJ Fleck will be on someone's list every year a coach is ousted.

How can he not be as a great communicator and promoter with boundless positive energy?

Once he starts winning, the Gophers may have a hard time keeping him unless the family wants to be here. He is a Midwestern guy at heart.

 

[JZsportswhiz]

I think Fleck's shtick would get eaten alive in Florida

 

[Unregistered User]

Here my $0.02 on the potential of Fleck leaving due to success rather than failure.

I don’t care to discuss the idea that if he leaves here, the program is able to hire a good to great coach because he built the program up. Although that may be true, I want to come at it from a different angle.

The goal is National Championships. Period. Paragraph.

That must be the goal of any coach in a P5 conference. And the fact of the matter is that as a member of the B10 conference, if the Gophers go undefeated through the conference championship game, they will have a spot in the playoffs and a chance to reach that goal. That is true of any P5 school. Although there is a chance that all 5 P5 conferences could have an undefeated champion is possible, it is highly improbable.

Imagine a scenario in the near future where we’ve either attained that goal or gotten close (playoffs, consecutive NYD bowl games, etc.) and Fleck chooses to leave. The message that sends to me is one of the following:
I am not getting the support needed from the administration to continue. That’s on “us”.
I don’t want my ultimate legacy to be associated with the University of Minnesota. I would rather reach my career apex somewhere else. That’s on him.
It’s about the money. That’s on him. If he has the type of success I dream of, his compensation should never be an issue.
I want it to be easier to reach the top. Either more fertile recruiting grounds, easier admissions, etc. That’s on him.
(I would be happy to have others suggest other scenarios and open a discussion about those scenarios.)

I don’t know Fleck or his family, but I don’t think he is the type of person to leave for those reasons. And I don’t see him leaving before he clearly embeds his mark on the program (again, assuming this is due to success…).

Of course, I hope that he was speaking truthfully when he called this his “dream job” or maybe he said “a” dream job, but I’m not going to look that up. And of course, I hope that he has enough success, and reaches that true goal multiple times and retires from the University of Minnesota as the most successful of all time, and a beloved figure. I have hoped that for every coach in my lifetime (except Holtz…never wanted him here).
My $0.28 (adjusted for inflation)

 

[beavergopher]

I think Fleck's shtick would get eaten alive in Florida

Yup. They want to win and don't care how it happens.

 

[gopherjay]

Yup. They want to win and don't care how it happens.

Fleck took a massive risk coming here. I believe he sincerely believes he can win here and maybe when he feels the peak return for the next job occurs he may take it or we will match the offer. like him or not, he is confident and aggressive. Success here does not always mean that a coach will leave. If the situation is right and is the money, why leave?

 

[gopherdudepart2]

I disagree

I think Fleck's shtick would get eaten alive in Florida

Those Gator's fans would be spoon fed his schtick and shovel it in. They believe they are an elite program and have had a lot more recent success than our program.
Florida is number 1 in instate talent across the board. That place recruits itself.
If Florida, came calling even though it is the SEC, him and his agent would jump at the chance to take that job.
There are only so many potentially Elite Division 1 jobs that open up. People will be jumping over themselves to take this job. If Forida offers him the job I would be willing to bet he Is as good as gone.
Kids are still young so the chance to move to a better climate, probably better money, you would be a fool not to take that Florida job if offered.
There will be a lot of high profile coaches that put themselves in the ring for that position.

 

[Livingat45north]

Florida is a terrible job. You're competing with four credible programs for in-state recruits (FSU, Miami, Central Florida and South Florida) and Florida fans still expect Spurrier-type winning seasons. If you don't win 10 games your toast. Ever since Spurrier left, Florida's been a dead-end job for coaches. I'm not worried at all about Fleck taking on the Gator's job. I am worried though about Campbell leaving Iowa State for some other job. I want Iowa State to be the best football program in Iowa, so they get all the best high school recruits from within Iowa. It's real possible that Iowa State won't be able to keep Campbell. If he does leave, I hope it's to some place like Florida versus say Nebraska.

 

[grumps]

Do we have a thread like this for Tracy Claeys?

He should be more in demand if what people on here post is true.

 

[#2Gopher]

If Fleck were to leave, then the folks here would blast the new guy before he even has a chance to get started. Never ending and never satisfied. Fleck is a loyal guy so don't plan on seeing him leave soon. He is going to turn it around.

 

[BleedGopher]

Ever since Spurrier left, Florida's been a dead-end job for coaches.

Huh?! Urban Meyer disagrees with you.

Go Gophers!!

 

[bizzle22]

Florida is a terrible job. You're competing with four credible programs for in-state recruits (FSU, Miami, Central Florida and South Florida) and Florida fans still expect Spurrier-type winning seasons. If you don't win 10 games your toast. Ever since Spurrier left, Florida's been a dead-end job for coaches. I'm not worried at all about Fleck taking on the Gator's job. I am worried though about Campbell leaving Iowa State for some other job. I want Iowa State to be the best football program in Iowa, so they get all the best high school recruits from within Iowa. It's real possible that Iowa State won't be able to keep Campbell. If he does leave, I hope it's to some place like Florida versus say Nebraska.

Yea, Urban Meyer was really bad at Florida

 

[West Fargo Gopher Fan]

Tennessee

https://www.seccountry.com/tennessee/jon-gruden-chip-kelly-jeff-brohm

 

[El Amin Fan]

Tennessee

https://www.seccountry.com/tennessee/jon-gruden-chip-kelly-jeff-brohm

According to Bet Online, Gruden is now one of the favorites to be hired by the Volunteers, joining former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, Purdue coach Jeff Brohm and Louisville’s Bobby Petrino. Gruden comes in at +800, the same odds as current Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck. When the odds were first released, Gruden was a long shot at +2000.

 

[#2Gopher]

Tennessee

https://www.seccountry.com/tennessee/jon-gruden-chip-kelly-jeff-brohm

Interesting...Gruden wins a Superbowl using Dungy's players and system and he gets all the credit for it. Dungy was the man here not Gruden. Gruden is overrated.

 

[FredCoxRocks]

I think Fleck's shtick would get eaten alive in Florida

It appears it's starting to get eaten alive here in Minnesota.

 

[MNVCGUY]

So tired of this Minnesota as a stepping stone BS that our fans panic about all the time. It is based entirely on one coach from the 80's and yet to listen to our fans it is like our coaches are being poached left and right from us the way they are in the MAC.

Holtz absolutely used Minnesota as a stepping stone to Notre Dame. The coaches prior to Holtz didn't and not one of the coaches since Holtz did it. Would Mason have left for Ohio State, almost certainly, but given his deep ties to that school it would have been really hard to blame him.

So maybe this fear is tied to Basketball, surely there are tons of coaches using Minnesota as a stepping stone on that front. Well if there are it happened before Haskins, meaning early 80's and before. Hasn't happened since.

I guess maybe it has happened on the women's side with the coach that left for Maryland but women's college basketball is a 2-3 team field so if you want to compete there are only a few places you can go to do it.

So it must be hockey where all the stepping stone advancement is happening......nope doesn't seem to be the case there either.

The entire narrative is centered around one coach spurning us....30 years ago.....Pitino and Fleck are young dynamic head coaches. They certainly could get stolen away at some point but if they do it will almost certainly be because they earned it through having a great deal of success here. Until someone does it again though, people really need to get over the feelings of abandonment left over from Holtz. To date he is the exception and not the rule in regards to coaches at Minnesota, although to listen to some fans talk you would think departures like Holtz's happen on a yearly basis around here.

 

[60's Guy]

I am very doubtful PJ is going anywhere. I think a good sized factor and indicator whether we'll be good any time soon at Minnesota is how many assistant coaches move on after the season. If the assistant coaches stay, I can't imagine we won't get better. There are lots of football coaches ahead of PJ on the AD's wish lists of potential hires. At Minnesota, attendance is down, (PJ didn't sell out 33k seat Western Michigan) people are grumbling, the team doesn't pass the eye test, etc. Big time programs want to reload, not go from 9 wins to 4. They don't want somebody who is going to bottom it out to raise it up and go look at me now, five years later. They want somebody who makes an immediate impact offensively....that ain't us. Scott Frost will have his choice of jobs. Even Lane Kiffin can make a case towards the bottom of a list higher than PJ.

Take Florida... here's 21 names...most make way more sense than PJ and I could show you a list of 10 other names that make even more sense than the bottom 10 from that list...so we'd still be at 20 guys, with 30 names all ahead of PJ. A big time program wants to win now!! PJ effed up if his desire was moving to a bigger program anytime soon. All his actions indicate he's stayin' here. Plus, Notre Dame is winning. If we suck, PJ has 18 million dollars, if we win PJ has $50 more million dollars. He's at peace.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/30/16567856/florida-coach-candidates-search-jim-mcelwain-fired

 

[Goldmember]

Can we vote this thread off the board?
It's just ridiculous.

 

[billy bremner]

In the past 70+ years, there has been exactly one UMN coach (Holtz) who was pursued by another job opportunity. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[John Galt]

Do we have a thread like this for Tracy Claeys?

He should be more in demand if what people on here post is true.

+1

 

[Johnnyboy18]

Do we have a thread like this for Tracy Claeys?

He should be more in demand if what people on here post is true.

With the great job he did as a first year coach you would think he would be highly coveted. I'm sure he'll be a head coach for a P5 program this offseason.

 

[Triple D]

With the great job he did as a first year coach you would think he would be highly coveted. I'm sure he'll be a head coach for a P5 program this offseason.

Just like Fleck was supposed to be this great recruiter, that's why Armstrong possibly won't come here now and he doesn't even have enough faith in his guy Morgan to play him.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Just like Fleck was supposed to be this great recruiter, that's why Armstrong possibly won't come here now and he doesn't even have enough faith in his guy Morgan to play him.

You can't judge Fleck's recruiting ability on his first class which was assembled in a really short period of time. That isn't fair to any coach when they first get hired. What happens from here on out will show Fleck's ability as a recruiter and we will have to wait and see how the players pan out.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

OMG can we not act like the spastic jealous girlfriend.

 

[OddStack]

Interesting...Gruden wins a Superbowl using Dungy's players and system and he gets all the credit for it. Dungy was the man here not Gruden. Gruden is overrated.

YES!

 

[OddStack]

Nothing says hot coach like a 1 win B1G season to date.

He's going no where this year!!!!!!!!! Even though I feel there are some similarities between PFJ and Kiffin (read self promotion machines), he's not as heralded as Kiffin (moved on after 1 year at Tenn) . FTR, I think Kiffin steam is always terribly overrated; he's done nothing as a HC that's eye popping.

 

[Goldierookie]

OMG can we not act like the spastic jealous girlfriend.

YES!