BleedGopher
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Per Dylan:
On Sunday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions administration decided to part ways with long-time head coach James Franklin after parts of 12 seasons. It was a decision that came just three weeks after Penn State was ranked the No. 2 team in the country and less than a season after having the Nittany Lions one drive, perhaps even one play away from competing for a national championship.
Nonetheless, the decision has been made, and the Nittany Lions will now look to start anew.
It’s a decision that once again shows the cutthroat nature of college football and how stability in the sport is rarer than ever.
Amid college football’s near constant turnover, P.J. Fleck and Minnesota have provided a model of stability.
With the firing of Franklin, Fleck has now moved up another rung on the Big Ten stability ladder. The Gophers’ leader is now the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten, and the 16th-longest tenured head coach in college football. The only Big Ten coach with his program longer is Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, who has been in Iowa City since 1999.
Other Power Four coaches with longer tenure than Fleck include Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, NC State’s Dave Doeren, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
It’s an impressive accomplishment for Fleck, who, when he took over the Minnesota football program in 2017, was inheriting a program with a rich history but one that struggled to find sustained success and stability.
From 2006 through 2016, Minnesota employed four full-time head coaches and five total if you count the five-game stint that Jeff Horton led the program as its interim head coach in 2010.
Under Fleck, the Gophers have achieved at least six wins in six of his previous eight seasons, and seven non-COVID seasons. His .602 winning percentage is the highest winning percentage of any Minnesota head coach since 1950 and the fourth best for a coach who has five or more seasons with the program behind Henry Williams (.786), Clarence Spears (.738), and Bernie Bierman (.716).
The Gophers have made bowl games in four straight seasons, and six-straight full seasons, not counting the 2020 COVID season. If the Gophers can win two of their last six games of the 2025 season, they’ll tie a program record of five straight bowl games, last accomplished between 2013 and 2017.
There’s little doubt that P.J. Fleck is one of the better coaches in college football, and one who can squeeze every last ounce of potential out of his program and the resources provided. While Minnesota is not a college football powerhouse under Fleck, the program is one of the best models of consistency in today’s game.
www.newsbreak.com
Go Gophers!!
On Sunday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions administration decided to part ways with long-time head coach James Franklin after parts of 12 seasons. It was a decision that came just three weeks after Penn State was ranked the No. 2 team in the country and less than a season after having the Nittany Lions one drive, perhaps even one play away from competing for a national championship.
Nonetheless, the decision has been made, and the Nittany Lions will now look to start anew.
It’s a decision that once again shows the cutthroat nature of college football and how stability in the sport is rarer than ever.
Amid college football’s near constant turnover, P.J. Fleck and Minnesota have provided a model of stability.
With the firing of Franklin, Fleck has now moved up another rung on the Big Ten stability ladder. The Gophers’ leader is now the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten, and the 16th-longest tenured head coach in college football. The only Big Ten coach with his program longer is Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, who has been in Iowa City since 1999.
Other Power Four coaches with longer tenure than Fleck include Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, NC State’s Dave Doeren, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
It’s an impressive accomplishment for Fleck, who, when he took over the Minnesota football program in 2017, was inheriting a program with a rich history but one that struggled to find sustained success and stability.
From 2006 through 2016, Minnesota employed four full-time head coaches and five total if you count the five-game stint that Jeff Horton led the program as its interim head coach in 2010.
Under Fleck, the Gophers have achieved at least six wins in six of his previous eight seasons, and seven non-COVID seasons. His .602 winning percentage is the highest winning percentage of any Minnesota head coach since 1950 and the fourth best for a coach who has five or more seasons with the program behind Henry Williams (.786), Clarence Spears (.738), and Bernie Bierman (.716).
The Gophers have made bowl games in four straight seasons, and six-straight full seasons, not counting the 2020 COVID season. If the Gophers can win two of their last six games of the 2025 season, they’ll tie a program record of five straight bowl games, last accomplished between 2013 and 2017.
There’s little doubt that P.J. Fleck is one of the better coaches in college football, and one who can squeeze every last ounce of potential out of his program and the resources provided. While Minnesota is not a college football powerhouse under Fleck, the program is one of the best models of consistency in today’s game.
In an era of turnover, P.J. Flecks stands out as a model of stability - NewsBreak
On Sunday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions administration decided to part ways with long-time head coach James Franklin after parts of 12 seasons. I
Go Gophers!!
