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

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gopherphil said:
Your nuts JH is a great coach NCAA or NFL but he’s up there in age which is a knock on him imo.
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I think the biggest knock on him is that he doesn't get along with anyone (allegedly). He is a good coach but essentially was such an ahole that the Vikings changed course at the last minute, the GM in San Fran hated his guts, etc. I don't know if any of this is true, but that's the rumor.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think the biggest knock on him is that he doesn't get along with anyone (allegedly). He is a good coach but essentially was such an ahole that the Vikings changed course at the last minute, the GM in San Fran hated his guts, etc. I don't know if any of this is true, but that's the rumor.
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His players love him.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I think the biggest knock on him is that he doesn't get along with anyone (allegedly). He is a good coach but essentially was such an ahole that the Vikings changed course at the last minute, the GM in San Fran hated his guts, etc. I don't know if any of this is true, but that's the rumor.
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This is a good general statement, but you’re being a little too kind to JH.
 



Gophers1992 said:
Did JH steal your girlfriend or something? You seem to have a strange beef with him.
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No beef, I think he is entertaining. I just know how the NFL views him from multiple sources, and it's really bad. There is no front office that wants to deal with him.
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
General sentiment is that he keeps getting interviews because he's a good coach. It keeps not working out because he's an asshole.

No idea if that's true.
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He's currently making more than about 2/3 of NFL HCs, so that might be an issue.
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
General sentiment is that he keeps getting interviews because he's a good coach. It keeps not working out because he's an asshole.

No idea if that's true.
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That's a pretty reasonable theory, the part I don't get is if the whole NFL thinks Harbaugh is a "clown show" and it's such a widespread view as Houston is suggesting, it's odd that they would bother to interview him to begin with.
 

Gophers1992 said:
That's a pretty reasonable theory, the part I don't get is if the whole NFL thinks Harbaugh is a "clown show" and it's such a widespread view as Houston is suggesting, it's odd that they would bother to interview him to begin with.
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Because he's not a "clown show".
 

Gophers1992 said:
That's a pretty reasonable theory, the part I don't get is if the whole NFL thinks Harbaugh is a "clown show" and it's such a widespread view as Houston is suggesting, it's odd that they would bother to interview him to begin with.
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The obvious reason would probably be that Houston thinks Harbaugh is a clown show but maybe doesn't speak for the NFL. :)
 






Oh boy, here we go again! This one actually makes sense unfortunately...

I'm not going to say anymore as I think PJ and Heather read the board.
 


MNVCGUY said:
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.
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That’s a great take. There really isn’t any historical data ex for Lou to back up this anxiety. Good point
 



For those that haven't read the Athletic article, Feldman lists 4 power 5 coaches who will get considertion in Duke coach Mike Elko, Kansas coach Lance Leipold, Kansas State coach Chris Klineman, and Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck.

Without stealing his entire article, by what he says about each of these candidates, it reads like he's ordered them from most to least likely to take the job if offered. The section on Fleck:

"Word is the Spartans have some interest in Fleck, who has done a nice job bringing in a lot of stability to a program that was reeling when he left Western Michigan. The 42 year old is 42-28 at Minnesota and that includes an 11-2 season and a top 10 finish in 2019. He has a good job in the Big Ten, but it's worth noting that MSU is a program that has reached the College Football Playorr before so it wouldn't shock us if he'd consider it."

Feldman goes on to list a bunch of group of five coaches and assistants later in the article. Interstingly enough the assistant he thinks will get the strongest look is Sean Lewis the former Kent State coach who is coordinating the Colorado offense this year.

I could personally see a scenario where Fleck leaving for Michigan State would make sense for both Fleck and Minnesota. If the Gophers end up 7-5 with another loss to Iowa and don't appear to have a significantly better season on the horizon in 2024, I could see Fleck jumping while he can. It's a tough needle to thread though because after such a season would Michigan State want him over other candidates who may have more momentum? I'd personally rather think about Fleck going 9-3 and putting himself, and the Gopher program, in a better position.
 

If Fleck stays.......Meh

If Fleck leaves......Meh

Although, I'm sure he'd take a bunch of our players with him.
 

BilldGopher said:
Although he has state of Michigan connections Coach appears to like it here just fine. Not worried.
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I believe Fleck felt he'd win at a much higher level here. His recruiting is not what he thought it would be. I wonder about what he thinks of this passing game deep down. I can see him leaving in a heartbeat, as I think he expected much more. It's year 7 here, and many would take 7-5. It feels stagnant here. I can see PJ thinking the same way.
 

We should prpbably start the "whos the next head coach thread" now
 



I don't think Fleck has any special connection to the state of Michigan other than simply that was where he got his first HC gig?

I think he'd jump at the UMichigan job, but MSU feels more lateral to me.
 

If he did go, we'd obviously want to grab Campbell from Iowa State!

He's already up here in Minnesota offering every high school player with 2* or higher rating!!

[half-joking]
 

I could see mutual interest to an extent here given MSU resources and their need for a “culture change” and program builder. Idk if Fleck has done well enough here though, especially if we have fewer than 8 wins this year.
 

Why would Leipold want that job? You’re 4th fiddle in the current east. He’s a great coach. He can get a better job in the next couple years. But if he goes to MSU and has a couple 5-7 campaigns the shine wears off.
 

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