Ranking the Head Coaches in the Big Ten (9. PJ Fleck, Minnesota)

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Fleck usually finishes above 9th place in the standings (including this season) and does it with less resources than most other Big Ten coaches.

Seems like 9th is underestimating him. But this is one of those lazy lists with Day on top, Lanning from Oregon, James Franklin...as if all Big Ten jobs were the same difficulty level.
 

fmlizard said:
Fleck usually finishes above 9th place in the standings (including this season) and does it with less resources than most other Big Ten coaches.

Seems like 9th is underestimating him. But this is one of those lazy lists with Day on top, Lanning from Oregon, James Franklin...as if all Big Ten jobs were the same difficulty level.
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Hypothetically, if you swapped Fleck and Day, would the team results be any different? I doubt it...might actually be worse for the Gophers IMO.
 


Slim Tubby said:
Hypothetically, if you swapped Fleck and Day, would the team results be any different? I doubt it...might actually be worse for the Gophers IMO.
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I know most head coaches in major college football have paid their dues and climbed the ladder, but one day, I’d love to see a top-tier coach walk away from their helmet school, their endless five-star recruits, their built-in CFP appearances, etc., to take over a perennial bottom-feeder. Just to see how good they really are. Have they been geniuses all along, or have they been riding the machine that does much of the heavy lifting? You know, just for the fun of it.
 


FredCoxRocks said:
I know most head coaches in major college football have paid their dues and climbed the ladder, but one day, I’d love to see a top-tier coach walk away from their helmet school, their endless five-star recruits, their built-in CFP appearances, etc., to take over a perennial bottom-feeder. Just to see how good they really are. Have they been geniuses all along, or have they been riding the machine that does much of the heavy lifting? You know, just for the fun of it.
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It happens. Look at Butch Davis, Dennis Erickson, or Mack Brown for example.
 

fmlizard said:
Fleck usually finishes above 9th place in the standings (including this season) and does it with less resources than most other Big Ten coaches.

Seems like 9th is underestimating him. But this is one of those lazy lists with Day on top, Lanning from Oregon, James Franklin...as if all Big Ten jobs were the same difficulty level.
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His team just won the National title. Probably would be difficult not to place him on top.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
I know most head coaches in major college football have paid their dues and climbed the ladder, but one day, I’d love to see a top-tier coach walk away from their helmet school, their endless five-star recruits, their built-in CFP appearances, etc., to take over a perennial bottom-feeder. Just to see how good they really are. Have they been geniuses all along, or have they been riding the machine that does much of the heavy lifting? You know, just for the fun of it.
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Tubby won a Natty at a Blue Blood and was atrocious at High Point (where he presumably should have way better coaching acumen than others in the conference) not to mention mediocre results at MN, TT and Memphis.

Go Gophers!!
 

Seems like people really overvalue the most recent program builders like Cignetti and Rhule, previously Fickell and seem to discount Fleck’s body of work.
 



FredCoxRocks said:
I know most head coaches in major college football have paid their dues and climbed the ladder, but one day, I’d love to see a top-tier coach walk away from their helmet school, their endless five-star recruits, their built-in CFP appearances, etc., to take over a perennial bottom-feeder. Just to see how good they really are. Have they been geniuses all along, or have they been riding the machine that does much of the heavy lifting? You know, just for the fun of it.
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The only situation I can think of that went a little like that was Howard Schnellenberger who built a monster at Miami, won a National Championship and then left.

He took a year off and went to Louisville. 5 losing seasons in 10 years.
 
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This list comes out every year, and every year people complain about where Fleck is ranked. I like Fleck a lot. He is under .500 in the Big Ten, to me that seems like somewhere between 8th and 10th is fair. He does do more with less talent, but he's partially responsible for the talent level.
 


Stuff said:
I see your at it again Heather.
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Yes because it’s such a homer take to think having historical seasons at WMU and Minnesota isn’t at least on par with with guys who haven’t even had big10 success yet.
 



Slim Tubby said:
Hypothetically, if you swapped Fleck and Day, would the team results be any different? I doubt it...might actually be worse for the Gophers IMO.
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I honestly believe most of the people on this board could have gone at least 8-4 or 9-3 at Ohio State last year as head coach. Let the super experienced, top-dollar assistants cook with the X and O stuff and lean on the best roster.

A rando probably would have taken an L in the playoffs, but against most of the Big Ten? With their advantages?
 

fmlizard said:
I honestly believe most of the people on this board could have gone at least 8-4 or 9-3 at Ohio State last year as head coach. Let the super experienced, top-dollar assistants cook with the X and O stuff and lean on the best roster.

A rando probably would have taken an L in the playoffs, but against most of the Big Ten? With their advantages?
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Pretty much all you would have to do is know when to call your timeouts
 

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