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

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IMO Fleck would have needed a large contract. 7 years at probably 6+ Million a year to leave for that job at this time.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
IMO Fleck would have needed a large contract. 7 years at probably 6+ Million a year to leave for that job at this time.
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And a job with certainty of the ability to compete.

non-sanctioned Tennessee is a top 20 job in college football...but I don’t think it’s top 10. It’s at best the 6th best job in the SEC.
sanctioned Tennessee might not be a top 50 job.
 

alchemy2u said:
There is no way that PJ would want to go to Tennessee. It is a no win situation, just like Nebraska or Arkansas, etc... Schools that have a delusional fanbase that thinks they are Alabama and can never be satisfied. Yes, you can make money for a time, but it is a coaching dead end. PJ wants to be the identity of the program. He can do that at Minnesota, he is just the next “unsuccessful” coach at Tennessee.
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This. If I was PJ or any other power 5 coach at a decent job, I wouldn't touch it.
 

I don't see PJ leaving for TN. But who knows if they or some other university were to back the Brinks truck to Edina, he could go.
As long as there is speculation on this matter, who would be on Heating Coyles short list?
I would say at this time, we'd go on the cheap. Hello Lance Leipold.
 


found an article - can't remember the site - but the gist of the article was that the Tenn AD might be using some of the previously listed names as a smoke screen. Supposedly, the AD has a track record of going after guys that may not be big names at the time, and a lot of his moves have paid off.

the author did say that - of the three names that were listed as top candidates - Fleck made the most sense, based on the AD's previous hires. White hired Liepold at Buffalo and Hired Scott Frost at UCF. When Frost left, White hired Josh Heupel as his replacement.
 

CWCWCW said:
I don't see PJ leaving for TN. But who knows if they or some other university were to back the Brinks truck to Edina, he could go.
As long as there is speculation on this matter, who would be on Heating Coyles short list?
I would say at this time, we'd go on the cheap. Hello Lance Leipold.
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Leipold is the first name that comes to my mind, too. (Bryan Harson would've been first to my mind, considering Coyle worked with him, until he took the Auburn job.) But that doesn't necessarily mean that's on the cheap. Our next coach will likely be a Group of Five head coach. It's mighty unlikely that we would be able to poach another P5 head coach -- most P5 schools can't. There are always one or two hot names, but like our last two hires, Leipold coaches in the MAC. It's hard to complain about what he's done there, although his age (56) works against him.

I'm not pushing for Leipold, but the G5 pool is where most P5 coaches come from.
 

BilldGopher said:
Back in the day Mason's flirtations with MSU and tOSU really bugged me.

In a better place now. Progress.
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Same. I'll be disappointed if PJ does decide to leave, but if he goes, he goes, and I'm not gonna stress myself about it either way. It'll just be next guy up, whomever that next guy might be.

Things change, that's a constant and a given, and when it comes to ambitious young coaches who've shown some measure of success, they often try and move upward. Whether TN might be considered an 'upward' move at this time is pretty highly debatable in my opinion, but that would be something up to Fleck to decide. He's gotta do whatever he believes is best for himself and his family, and that's all I'd ever expect of him.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
seems like the Fleck to Tennessee idea is fading. updated articles talk about Napier, the Louisiana coach, as the person to go with.

athlonsports.com

Tennessee Football: Who Should the Volunteers Hire to Replace Jeremy Pruitt?

Tennessee’s coaching search to replace Jeremy Pruitt has seen several names tossed around during the first week of the pursuit for the next program leader. New
athlonsports.com athlonsports.com
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Makes a lot of sense, born in Cookeville, TN. Knows the southeast.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
IMO Fleck would have needed a large contract. 7 years at probably 6+ Million a year to leave for that job at this time.
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I don't see why even doubling the money he makes now, just for the sake of money, is anything to PJ. I think it would have to be about more than the money.

How much more money does he need to be happy in life? $4M in the Twin Cities ... like they said in Forrest Gump, "there's only so much money a man really needs ... the rest is just for showing off".
 

MplsGopher said:
How much more money does he need to be happy in life? $4M in the Twin Cities ... like they said in Forrest Gump, "there's only so much money a man really needs ... the rest is just for showing off".
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Strike while the iron is hot. You can set up your grandkids for life and have your money working for you the rest of your life.
 

bonin21 said:
Strike while the iron is hot. You can set up your grandkids for life and have your money working for you the rest of your life.
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I suppose, to each his own.

$4M to coach a respectable, competitive Gophers program where the fans respect you for winning 8 and worship you for winning 11 once in a while, to $6-7M to coach at Tennessee where anything less than Alabama they hate you. Doesn't compute to me.
 

Chip Scoggins has a good column on it tonight. Basically, he says, "Get used to it," but he's also very sure P.J. isn't going to end up at Tennessee.
 



MplsGopher said:
I suppose, to each his own.

$4M to coach a respectable, competitive Gophers program where the fans respect you for winning 8 and worship you for winning 11 once in a while, to $6-7M to coach at Tennessee where anything less than Alabama they hate you. Doesn't compute to me.
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Wasn't referring to this example specifically but saying if you can increase your earnings 50% overnight it will be appealing at just about any income level.
 

Mulligan said:
Chip Scoggins has a good column on it tonight. Basically, he says, "Get used to it," but he's also very sure P.J. isn't going to end up at Tennessee.
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Chip should know given his connection to both programs
 


bonin21 said:
Strike while the iron is hot. You can set up your grandkids for life and have your money working for you the rest of your life.
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This is interesting. So I'd love to post a question to the board.

From what we hear and know of PJ, what do we think drives him? as in, what makes him happy. Because ultimately, that's what most big decisions should come down to.
 


Here are the schools I think Fleck might leave for. Oregon, USC, Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio St, Penn St, Florida, FSU, Georgia. That’s probably about it, give or take 1 or 2.
 


The good thing for Gopher fans is that Coach Fleck will need to be back to 9 plus wins next year to have his name out there for other jobs. One good year in 5, with that year being 2 years removed will not entice the next Tennessee. Coach Fleck's contract ranks in the top 25 nationally so the pool of schools willing to give him a raise is relatively small.

Unfortunately this seems to be the way Fleck (or IMHO Fleck's agent) will do business and will be the price of success here if it does come. He may not even want to leave, but he (or his agent) will use any leverage (perceived or real) to try to improve his situation. I'd much rather it be like Iowa (before Ferentz's issues) or Wisconsin where you never hear about their coaches linked to other jobs (Ferentz briefly to the Jags years ago but never another college gig), but if he starts beating those schools these rumors will be an annoyance I (and I think we) can deal with.
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
Here are the schools I think Fleck might leave for. Oregon, USC, Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio St, Penn St, Florida, FSU, Georgia. That’s probably about it, give or take 1 or 2.
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The list is probably 12-15 teams long and Tennessee is probably on that list but the key is stability which shrinks the list a great deal. Let's be honest, we know there's a number of jobs that have natural advantages that have more upside than this one but have a bunch of bozo decision makers. The likes of Fleck, Campbell, and Fickell are going to rightly be picky.

The branding aspect of hiring him will continue to be a road block unless he starts making frequent trips to Indy. So in the end, it'll be interesting to see whether he decides that this really is where he wants to be long term or whether he takes an ill advised jump. Campbell's out there, Fickell, keep an eye on Neal Brown, there's always going to be Billy Napiers...so he could very well get passed over the next few cycles and the longer he's here, the less likely it is that he leaves.
 

EG#9 said:
I'd much rather it be like Iowa
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Ferentz's name came up every year for potential job openings throughout most of the 2000s. His agent was ruthless, using that to get multiple contract extensions and pay raises and other things like assistant raises. At one point Ferentz was the third highest paid coach in the entire country. His extension as recently as 2016 made him the 8th highest paid coach. It also validated him. "Turning down" NFL offers and staying at Iowa helped build his reputation.

EG#9 said:
I'd much rather it be like Wisconsin
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Wisconsin has literally had two coaches take other jobs in the past eight years! Bielema and Anderson both left on their own accord. In fact, Wisconsin is on its fourth coach in the past 16 years. The three previous ones all left on their own, either retiring or taking other jobs.


I am probably in the minority, but I think it is a good thing to have PJ's name come up a lot. It says he is well regarded and we should be trumpeting that we have a coach in demand. It reinforces the idea that we have a big time guy. And every time he stays after his name comes up, it only validates that he wants to coach here. It just continues to build the brand.
 
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tjgopher said:
Ferentz's name came up every year for potential job openings throughout most of the 2000s. His agent was ruthless, using that to get multiple contract extensions and pay raises and other things like assistant raises. At one point Ferentz was the third highest paid coach in the entire country. His extension as recently as 2016 made him the 8th highest paid coach. It also validated him. "Turning down" NFL offers and staying at Iowa helped build his reputation.

I am probably in the minority, but I think it is a good thing to have PJ's name come up a lot. It says he is well regarded and we should be trumpeting that we have a coach in demand. It reinforces the idea that we have a big time guy. And every time he stays after his name comes up, it only validates that he wants to coach here. It just continues to build the brand.
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Good points. A few months ago long before PJ Fleck first took the Gophers job, I thought I saw an article about PJ chatting with Fitz at NW for pointers about coaching in the B1G. It is apparent that he wants to build a stable program.

I can see him staying here for the long haul and building his legacy once he starts winning consistently. He can leverage his position for staying in MN like you said get pay raises for his staff. We can continue to have program stability with assistant coaches knowing that they are here for the long haul if they wanted and put down roots for their families.

I honestly think he is going to win titles. It takes 3-6 years to build a program.

If he wants to go to places in the SEC like Tennessee, it will be smart for him to get an enormously huge parachute not only for himself, but his coaching staff because there is a time bomb attached to the boat.

What does he want? More money or glory? Matthew 6:24
 
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hungan1 said:
Good points. A few months ago long before PJ Fleck first took the Gophers job, I thought I saw an article about PJ chatting with Fitz at NW for pointers about coaching in the B1G. It is apparent that he wants to build a stable program.

I can see him staying here for the long haul and building his legacy once he starts winning consistently. He can leverage his position for staying in MN like you said get pay raises for his staff. We can continue to have program stability with assistant coaches knowing that they are here for the long haul if they wanted and put down roots for their families.

I honestly think he is going to be win titles. It takes 3-6 years to build a program.

If he wants to go to places in the SEC like Tennessee, it will be smart for him to get an enormously huge parachute not only for himself, but his coaching staff because there is a time bomb attached to the boat.

What does he want? More money or glory? Matthew 6:24
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Both?
 

I am not normally a fan of “all things” threads on GH but in this case I am glad there is one for Fleck job opportunities. It makes it easy for me to usually avoid a bunch of MN self loathing fans worrying about things that won’t likely happen. I say “usually” because the Tenn rumors were getting serious enough that I started to worry Sun evening so I started reading this thread.

By yesterday the fears subsided as reports from Burns and others surfaced about Fleck not being interested in Tenn. But, in true MN fan fashion... it is still being discussed here as if the moving vans are about to depart Edina for Knoxville.

I’m happy to go back to ignoring this thread now, until a serious concern surfaces again in the future. Meanwhile I’m sure it will continue to fill with commentary related to every job opening between the MIAC and the NFL. As others have said, it is probably a good thing as it shows people are happy with the job Fleck is doing here. It’s just frustrating, the level a lot of MN fans are willing to go to convince themselves we can’t have nice things.
 

While money is not irrelevant, I think the key to retaining PJ is Mark Coyle.

After meeting and trying to hire PJ when he was at Syracuse, Coyle knew he could coach, he knew he was a program changer, knew he was a once in a generation guy.

I think the two bonded but, as Coyle stated, Syracuse was not on his move list even though the money was better. He never divulged the full list but Minnesota was on that list.

I stated earlier that the day the U hired Coyle, he already KNEW who his FB coach was going to be. The day PJ was hired, he said he believed in Coyle and was sold on his vision.

I say as long as the two share the same vision for Gopher FB, he stays.
 

Some guy said:
No

PJ Fleck shouldn’t come out and comment every time someone online floats his name with no truth to it
[/QU
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MaroonShaft said:
Starting over right now in a new place would suck ass.
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Starting over while making $7 million a year for several years is something I could do. It's basically winning the lottery. You wouldn't ever have to work again even if you were an absolute failure.
 

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