Big Ten Football: 3 most overrated head coaches ahead of 2023

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nitramnaed

nitramnaed

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Yep...PJ

Via Fansided


https%3A%2F%2Fsaturdayblitz.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2017%2F07%2F13861521.jpeg


3
PJ FLECK
HC Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers


We hear all the time about how good of a coach PJ Fleck is and how he could potentially leave for a better spot, but he has yet to truly prove why he’s considered one of the best the Big Ten West has to offer — and, keep in mind, the Big Ten West is the much weaker of the two divisions.


Before he came to Minnesota, he turned Western Michigan into a MAC powerhouse, even going 13-1 in his final season before accepting the job in Minneapolis.

The Gophers were a rather dormant program but he led them to a bowl game in year two and then won 11 games in year three with an Outback Bowl victory. The COVID year set him back (like everyone else) but then he won nine games in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.

And while his 44-27 record at Minnesota seems solid, he has choked away back-to-back chances at making the Big Ten title game. He has failed to win the Big Ten West in his six seasons and that’s what he was brought to Minnesota to do. The West is one of the weakest divisions in the Power Five and yet he can’t seem to rise to the top, for whatever reason.

And we’re supposed to crown this guy one of the conference’s top coaches? Come on, man. Wait until he actually proves it.




saturdayblitz.com

Big Ten Football: 3 most overrated head coaches ahead of 2023

Big Ten football has some really good head coaches but others are also severely overrated. Who are the most overrated ahead of 2023?
saturdayblitz.com saturdayblitz.com
 


matt said:
I’m not sure if people outside of Minnesota perceive PJ as a top B1G coach, but I have a hard time seeing him as overrated. Now Day, Fitzgerald, Rhule, and Tucker on the other hand…
Click to expand...
I don’t think people in Minnesota perceive him as a top big ten coach.


My top overrated coaches would be:
1) Fitzgerald
2) Schiano
3) Fickell

But hard for me to put Fickell there yet as he hasn’t even coached at wisconsin. A lot of people have won at Cincinnati though.
 

I feel like every article that says "overrated" can be safely ignored....

I'll leave open the possibility that there are articles that actually talk about a rating system that has some sense to it and they take issue with that, and have some sense, maybe even math (hopefully beyond basic addition and subtraction) to their argument.
 

As long as Coyle is writing those big checks you can be sure PJ does not care what polls say.
His ego is plenty big and he can shrug those things off.
But things will change when the CA big boys come in and there are no divisions.
What will his conference record be next year, will he finally win the West?
The MN AD is not in any hurry to change coaches now.
 



I don't know too many people that think he is one of the top coaches in the conference. I'd put him in the top half. A quick google search of "Big Ten football coach rankings" has Fleck in the 6-8 range by most. That's probably about where he should be.
 

Yeah, I don't know where "one of the top coaches in the conference" came from. My guess is this guy is just sick of hearing about PJ. If you're a fan of an opposing team, I understand.

As a fan of the Gophers, if that means Fleck is going to stay here a while longer, I'm good with it.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Over rated? No.

Above average?. Yes.
Click to expand...
Agreed. If you asked fans to rank B1G coaches over the last few years and then compared that to where the teams actually finished in conference, I’d guess that PJ’s numbers match up pretty well. And that’s probably at a little above average on both accounts.
 



nitramnaed said:
Yep...PJ

Via Fansided


https%3A%2F%2Fsaturdayblitz.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2017%2F07%2F13861521.jpeg


3
PJ FLECK
HC Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers


We hear all the time about how good of a coach PJ Fleck is and how he could potentially leave for a better spot, but he has yet to truly prove why he’s considered one of the best the Big Ten West has to offer — and, keep in mind, the Big Ten West is the much weaker of the two divisions.


Before he came to Minnesota, he turned Western Michigan into a MAC powerhouse, even going 13-1 in his final season before accepting the job in Minneapolis.

The Gophers were a rather dormant program but he led them to a bowl game in year two and then won 11 games in year three with an Outback Bowl victory. The COVID year set him back (like everyone else) but then he won nine games in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.

And while his 44-27 record at Minnesota seems solid, he has choked away back-to-back chances at making the Big Ten title game. He has failed to win the Big Ten West in his six seasons and that’s what he was brought to Minnesota to do. The West is one of the weakest divisions in the Power Five and yet he can’t seem to rise to the top, for whatever reason.

And we’re supposed to crown this guy one of the conference’s top coaches? Come on, man. Wait until he actually proves it.




saturdayblitz.com

Big Ten Football: 3 most overrated head coaches ahead of 2023

Big Ten football has some really good head coaches but others are also severely overrated. Who are the most overrated ahead of 2023?
saturdayblitz.com saturdayblitz.com
Click to expand...
lol....this clown is a MSU fan. Fansided has some interesting stuff but you have to always take note of the source because it typically comes from a biased perspective of a fan more than a journalist.

As others have said, I don't see anyone talking Fleck up as tops in the conference but he is one of the better coaches and has done very well during his time at Minnesota.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I don't know too many people that think he is one of the top coaches in the conference. I'd put him in the top half. A quick google search of "Big Ten football coach rankings" has Fleck in the 6-8 range by most. That's probably about where he should be.
Click to expand...
The measure of a coach is what he gets out of the talent. It is legitimate to knock Fleck for not winning the West but overall he is doing well with 3 star recruits.

By contrast, Ryan Day is vastly overrated. Ohio State picks, not recruits. Any year Day is not playing for a national title he has under performed.
 

Dakota2 said:
The measure of a coach is what he gets out of the talent. It is legitimate to knock Fleck for not winning the West but overall he is doing well with 3 star recruits.

By contrast, Ryan Day is vastly overrated. Ohio State picks, not recruits. Any year Day is not playing for a national title he has under performed.
Click to expand...
True, but recruiting is part of coaching. Fleck has recruited ok at MN but wouldn't say he's done an outstanding job or anything. Certainly Ohio St is much easier to recruit to of course.

But you're right, he's done well with the talent he's been able to get. That's why I think he could do extremely well if he's able to land more talent in recruiting.
 

MNVCGUY said:
lol....this clown is a MSU fan. Fansided has some interesting stuff but you have to always take note of the source because it typically comes from a biased perspective of a fan more than a journalist.

As others have said, I don't see anyone talking Fleck up as tops in the conference but he is one of the better coaches and has done very well during his time at Minnesota.
Click to expand...
And wouldn't the MSU coach be #1?
 



Fleck is a good coach.

To be considered as one of the top coaches in the conference he will need to win the West at least once and problem a few times to get that type of recognition.
 



scools12 said:
Fleck is a good coach.

To be considered as one of the top coaches in the conference he will need to win the West at least once and problem a few times to get that type of recognition.
Click to expand...
Depends how short your list is.
 

Some guy said:
I don’t think people in Minnesota perceive him as a top big ten coach.


My top overrated coaches would be:
1) Fitzgerald
2) Schiano
3) Fickell

But hard for me to put Fickell there yet as he hasn’t even coached at wisconsin. A lot of people have won at Cincinnati though.
Click to expand...
I had the privilege today of expressing my fickle opinion on Whiskey- saw a gal with a hideous Rose Bowl Sweatshirt across the street from me as I was sidestepping hooliganism and thug life all around me - it was terrifying.

As I crossed paths with her, I smiled and said Go Gophers, she gave me a good natured Midwestern smile, I gave it a beat and then said, “Luke Fickle sucks,”
 

Almost every season, by default, the Gophers are preseason ranked around #35-40 nationally.

This is about where the historic average of recruiting classes has run over the last 20 years.

The last 3 full seasons, the Gophers have placed well above those pre-season expectations, especially in computer rankings. So no, I would say PJ/Minnesota is not overrated (versus unbiased, relatively low national expectations), and is a little bit underrated.
 

GophersInIowa said:
True, but recruiting is part of coaching. Fleck has recruited ok at MN but wouldn't say he's done an outstanding job or anything. Certainly Ohio St is much easier to recruit to of course.

But you're right, he's done well with the talent he's been able to get. That's why I think he could do extremely well if he's able to land more talent in recruiting.
Click to expand...
He has recruited a bit better than we have seen a decade ago but his primary strength has been in development. Continuing to win opens more doors for higher level recruiting.
 

I guess I am still trying to find all these people who are saying PJ is one of the top coaches in the conference. The only time I ever hear it is when he is discussed on broadcasts the same way coaches who have never won a game are talked up. I doubt even he would say he is *ahem* elite when it comes to Big Ten coaches.

He is the right coach for our job. Where that ranks him in the Big Ten I couldn't tell ya nor do I really care.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
I had the privilege today of expressing my fickle opinion on Whiskey- saw a gal with a hideous Rose Bowl Sweatshirt across the street from me as I was sidestepping hooliganism and thug life all around me - it was terrifying.

As I crossed paths with her, I smiled and said Go Gophers, she gave me a good natured Midwestern smile, I gave it a beat and then said, “Luke Fickle sucks,”
Click to expand...
Only strengthens my pride in being a Gopher fan to realize I stand shoulder to shoulder with a man courageous enough to stiff arm hooligans while facing a Badgette head on.

Well done, laddie.
 

Dakota2 said:
The measure of a coach is what he gets out of the talent. It is legitimate to knock Fleck for not winning the West but overall he is doing well with 3 star recruits.

By contrast, Ryan Day is vastly overrated. Ohio State picks, not recruits. Any year Day is not playing for a national title he has under performed.
Click to expand...
True. But it’s also on him he does not have better talent. That said he’s about as good as we could get and I’m satisfied
 

Some guy said:
I don’t think people in Minnesota perceive him as a top big ten coach.


My top overrated coaches would be:
1) Fitzgerald
2) Schiano
3) Fickell

But hard for me to put Fickell there yet as he hasn’t even coached at wisconsin. A lot of people have won at Cincinnati though.
Click to expand...
All good coaches IMO, Fitz has been successful at one of the hardest programs to win at in the BIG
 

BigGopher69 said:
All good coaches IMO, Fitz has been successful at one of the hardest programs to win at in the BIG
Click to expand...
I agree they are all good coaches.
But Fitzgerald isn’t a top 20 coach in the country like some think. Nor is Fickell.

Schiano isn’t a top 50 coach in the country, like some think.


That’s what overrated means.
Overrated doesn’t mean bad.

The big ten has at least 13 good coaches. Jury out on Purdue guy.
Maryland guy has flipped my opinion.
 


Some guy said:
I agree they are all good coaches.
But Fitzgerald isn’t a top 20 coach in the country like some think. Nor is Fickell.

Schiano isn’t a top 50 coach in the country, like some think.


That’s what overrated means.
Overrated doesn’t mean bad.

The big ten has at least 13 good coaches. Jury out on Purdue guy.
Maryland guy has flipped my opinion.
Click to expand...
I know what overrated means I just disagree
 

We had another thread rating Big Ten coaches. True, PJ has not won the West. And true, it seems like he should be able to recruit better.
But we are Minnesota, not Ohio State or Michigan...another words the starting line is not the same.
For Minnesota...choosing from Big Ten coaches, who would you rather have coach the Gophers than PJ? PJ wins for me. We haven't beaten Iowa but no way I'd rather have Ferentz. Same goes for Day and Harbaugh. Certainly not jealous of Wisconsin. So for me at Minnesota PJ is one of top Big Ten coaches for certain.
 

"One of the worst divisions in p5?" No, just no.
 


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