PJ was hired 8 years ago today. What grade would you give the Fleck era?

What grade would you give the Fleck era?

  • A

    Votes: 34 22.1%

  • B

    Votes: 114 74.0%

  • C

    Votes: 6 3.9%

  • D

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • F

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    154
Donate To GopherHole
WindyCityGopher

WindyCityGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2013
Messages
3,910
Reaction score
3,178
Points
113
He's been the best Gophers football coach in my nearly 40 years of fandom. He's brought dependability and a youthful energy to the program, producing a single huge season in 2019 (which could've been massively historic if he had been more aggressive at Iowa), some painful, inexplicable losses, zero off-field issues while graduating his players, regularly beating Wisconsin (but failing against the Hawkeyes), getting lots of guys into the NFL, and otherwise representing the university with dignity and class. He's not perfect, and I think he needs to take the program to the next level within the next couple years, but I'm very happy PJ Fleck is our coach.
 


He's certainly above average. So B. Had this year turned out like last year, I'd be calling for his head. But he seems to have removed the obstruction that was up his backside that was causing ultra conservativism.
 


Kinda like the 2024 season, I'd give him a B-. Probably expected a little more success but overall hard to be terribly disappointed.
 


If you asked PJ (I haven't) I'm thinking he'd tell you he deserves a C+/B- . Why? He really thought he'd do much better than what has happened, particularly in recruiting, which if successful leads to more wins. I think with the portal he is starting to get the talent and depth he originally thought. The next 8 years should produce better, more predictable results.

I'm not as hard on him, I'll give him a B+ 👍
 

Depends on what scale you are grading him on.

Compared to previous Gopher coaches it is an easy A for the run of success he has had here. When you have to go all the way back to Biermann and Warmath to find a U of M Coach with similar levels of success that is pretty telling.

Overall though I would give him a B. He has had a really good run here, the players stay out of trouble, and are good citizens.

If they had cashed in on a few of the opportunities to truly make some of the seasons magical I would bump him to an A. Would be really hard to find someone better to run the football program.
 

58-39 after 8 seasons. (Almost 60% wins)
55 and 35 (61%) if you exclude COVID Season
34-36 in Conference play and 31-32 without COVID Season.
5-7 is worst season
Four 8+ win seasons.

Highest Win % since Bernie Bierman
Moved into 5th most seasons at MN (Williams 22, Warmath 18, Bierman 16, Mason 10, Fleck 8)
 

B+ or A-

Best era of Gopher football since Murray Warmath. Some big high points along the way. Positive face of the program and leader who we can be proud of. Has brought stability to the program to the point where Minnesota is one of the most stable rosters and coaching staffs in P4 football. Gopher football sends more guys to the NFL now, and he's adapted well to the changes from NIL and the Portal.

I wish he would have engaged boosters and casual fans more. He's tried, but it seems like he did a better job of it at WMU when he was building up his name. Fleck's a showman and a salesman, but less of one than when he was hired, and he's mostly failed to move the needle on ticket sales, high school recruiting, and fundraising.
 




solid B-: solid but not spectacular
Has certainly seemed to level out the "floor" of this program to a higher level (Kill helped along this path) after Brew. There's been one near signature season (2019) with a pair of signature wins coupled with excruciating losses. Overall there have been more excruciating losses than big wins (beating WI is nice though he's still only 4-4, but 1-7 vs WI and the Bert situation have not been good) and he seems to leave some meat on the bone almost every year we are near contention (very beatable IA and WI teams in 2019 for what would've been a historic season, BG in 2021, Purdue in 2022, UNC and Rutgers in 2024). However the team overall has been of consistent good quality. Do I think there's more there for the taking? Yeah absolutely. So solid B-
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
He's certainly above average. So B. Had this year turned out like last year, I'd be calling for his head. But he seems to have removed the obstruction that was up his backside that was causing ultra conservativism.
Click to expand...
He mentioned in a post-bowl game interview with Fox9 that the one thing he learned in his 8 years was that you can't control everything and that you have to hire talented staff and support them.

In previous seasons, the rumor was that he would override play calls constantly which led to super conservative Tresselball. This season, however, it really looked like he trusted in OC to call creative plays and he trusted his QB1 to execute. If that is the pattern going forward, this team could be really special.
 

Best coach of my lifetime. Overwhelmingly changed the expectations of the fanbase. Before Fleck, we were hopeful to make bowl games most years. Half of the games on the schedule were considered likely losses by a plurality of our posters and we were hoping we'd finally get over the hump and beat wisconsin. He's also changed the perception of MN nationally for the better. Dude was a rock solid hire, and he's still got a lot of development to come as a head coach.
 



Solid B. Much to like. We're taken seriously by everyone, apparently clean program, players like him. High floor.

Needs to recruit at a higher level. We'll never get much above where we are without attracting more and better 4 star and occasional 5 star high schoolers.

Consistently Taking 35-55 level classes and turning them into top 10-15 teams is really hard.
 

PJ is a magnificent coach.

The program is in great shape. The players are big, strong, disciplined, and understand their roles and responsibilities. The Gophers are inches from breaking out.

Be patient. Greatness is coming.
 

I go with a B- as I think 7-5 should be a floor. Very much needs to get an offensive line uptick, a couple of real good individuals but not a consistent overall line year to year. We are seriously close to being DB university, been a strength since Kill in my opinion.
 


He's done great - inspite of limited budgets for assistant coaches and NIL - but he never uses that as an excuse. Think of where we were at the year before he arrived. Several players were accused of gang rape of a passed-out-drunk cheerleader, and the entire team voted to boycott their bowl game. That's the situation he inherited, and he's completely reversed it. Fleck's players have had basically zero behavior issues and they play and win their bowl games.
 

I guess I’m not seeing the many bad/excruciating losses. Really the only really bad loss was that Bowling Green one. There’s been a handful of painful ones against other teams that were close to us in talent and record, but I think that’s to be expected of any long term coach, even the bowling green type loss happens once in a blue moon.
 

As he stays here and continues to do what he does I think the most underrated part of his 8 years is the NFL talent he has identified and developed. 17 drafted so far in 8 years (another 9 undrafted). Not all his recruits, but he got them to stay and developed for majority of their years. Might get 4-6 guys drafted this year.

Kids don't ignore the line-ups on Sunday and Monday night when they say Minnesota.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
As he stays here and continues to do what he does I think the most underrated part of his 8 years is the NFL talent he has identified and developed. 17 drafted so far in 8 years (another 9 undrafted). Not all his recruits, but he got them to stay and developed for majority of their years. Might get 4-6 guys drafted this year.

Kids don't ignore the line-ups on Sunday and Monday night when they say Minnesota.
Click to expand...
Yeah, he has produced about the same number in 7 years as Mason did in 9 and while I was a little on the fence about Mason I thought he did will with producing NFL players.
 

I thought he was a B until I started meeting some of his players. Then moved him up to an A-. Very impressed with the way they conduct themselves in public.

The only blemish he has IMO is not winning the West. Once Wisconsin started their descent in 2020 it was there for the taking each year.
 

If there were options for + or - grades, I would go with a B-.

I agree with a lot of the posters so far. Fleck has raised the floor of the program - but I don't ignore what Kill and Claeys did in bringing the program back from the Brewster mess.

2019 is the pinnacle so far. there have been several other solid seasons, but in many of those years, the team fell short of what it could have accomplished due to losing some winnable games.

and now we are in a new era of college football with NIL, unlimited transfers, and starting next year, revenue sharing. So far, Fleck seems to be navigating this reasonably well with the resources he has had available. as noted, HS recruiting has seen classes ranging from the upper 30's to the low-to-mid-50's. we'll see if more NIL and revenue-sharing changes that. Likewise with portal recruiting. a few really solid players, but again, will more resources lead to a higher level of talent?

I think Fleck's long-term legacy really rides on the next 2 or 3 seasons. If he wants to be considered as one of the best coaches in school history, Fleck needs to produce another 2019-caliber season that puts the team in contention for a playoff berth.
 

Its always hard to measure these things since football at the U has endured different eras with strikingly different challenges. The last time the sport truly meshed well with Minnesota and its commitments was probably 1941. After that each coach has had challenges. With Bernie is was the changing to a more open style of play with the smaller football after WW2. With Warmath it was with waning support from the school. With Stoll it was with lukewarm support and deteriorating facilities. Salem had that, but also got saddled with the Dome. Holtz gave the place hope but then left. Gutey wasn't given as much support and was likewise saddled with the Dome. Wacker was a good coach in the wrong place. Mason was saddled with lukewarm support and the Dome, and I would have liked to have seen what he would have done with the new stadium. After Brewster, Kill started to chug things in the right direction and Fleck has taken over from there. Strangely, now, it seems as though major college football is shifting towards Fleck's strengths. This might get interesting.
 

No doubt the best Gopher Football Coach in my 59 years. I have been "all in" with Fleck since he arrived. His life program is more than football. He's changing the lives of a lot of kids and teaching them how to be successful in life. I do believe PJ can get us to the next level. To me the next level is consistency. Yes, we need more explosive plays, a more consistent running game once again and to continue to throw it to run it. I'm extremely excited for the future of Gopher Football.

Thank you, Coach Fleck! Go Gophers!
 

MNVCGUY said:
Depends on what scale you are grading him on.

Compared to previous Gopher coaches it is an easy A for the run of success he has had here. When you have to go all the way back to Biermann and Warmath to find a U of M Coach with similar levels of success that is pretty telling.

Overall though I would give him a B. He has had a really good run here, the players stay out of trouble, and are good citizens.

If they had cashed in on a few of the opportunities to truly make some of the seasons magical I would bump him to an A. Would be really hard to find someone better to run the football program.
Click to expand...
This
 

I’d say his results are a B but I voted C since I have had to endure him for 8 years to watch my favorite team. 🤷‍♂️
 

MaxyJR1 said:
34-36 in Conference play and 31-32 without COVID Season.
Click to expand...
34-36 receives a C for a grade.
Granted, he's done better than many Gophers coaches, but that's a poor measurement. Mostly mid to lower level bowl games and no division championship, with consistent losses to Iowa deserves no better than a C when comparing against the Big10 and P4 programs.
 


He's a very solid B.

There are two recent threads on Gopher Hole that make for very interesting and informative reading.

1) Last 5 full seasons.

2) Greder: The U’s total NIL fund is roughly $2.5 million, so an 8-5 season can be considered a quality return on investment.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom