Reusse: P.J. Fleck is a much better coach than Tim Brewster, but when it comes to gibberish ...

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BleedGopher

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Per Pat:

Did Murray Warmath ever go to a bowl game? OK, he did twice, back-to-back Rose Bowls but way back following the 1960 and ‘61 seasons — and one lousy win in Pasadena in his 18 seasons.

Philip John? He already is a Quick Lane Bowl coaching legend with two majestic wins in Detroit in a mere seven Gophers seasons.

We’re so lucky to have this bowl-busting head coach for a mere $6.7 million minimum for this season. If you don’t believe that, just listen to him boast about beating Bowling Green — not only another bowl game win; also revenge for a loss as 30½-point favorites over the Falcons in Minneapolis in September 2021.

And yes, I had to mention that, because P.J. and friends’ casual attempts to give him a lofty place in Gophers football coaching history drive me nuts.

OK, he’s been better than Brew, I will give him that.

www.startribune.com

P.J. Fleck is a much better coach than Tim Brewster, but when it comes to gibberish ...

The Gophers beat Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl last season ... but so what?
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 







Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
I wonder who these imaginary friends he thinks PJ has that are putting him on such a a lofty pedestal.
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I will say that the general fanbase is pretty “meh” on Fleck. On Gopherhole he is a god, but the general consensus is kind of between what Reusse thinks of Fleck and what Gopherhole does.

And that is kind of where I am. I am glad he is our coach and want him to be here, but I can’t say the program is astronomically better than the few years before he took over.
 






PJ likes to put his own spin on things for sure and he definitely has a gift for the gab as well. For what the Gophers are paying him you should expect more in return. Despite his bowl record the only significant bowl victory in my opinion was against Auburn in the Outback bowl. They've controlled their own destiny for a Big 10 championship appearance the last couple seasons and fumbled that away, pun intended. You do have to ask yourself does PJ have it in him to take this team to another level.
 

WoodburyTim said:
I will say that the general fanbase is pretty “meh” on Fleck. On Gopherhole he is a god, but the general consensus is kind of between what Reusse thinks of Fleck and what Gopherhole does.

And that is kind of where I am. I am glad he is our coach and want him to be here, but I can’t say the program is astronomically better than the few years before he took over.
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People here think he's a god? Seriously?
 

Pat has to know that context and nuance matter. I think it's pretty clear that Fleck is speaking in relative terms about his bowl record, both in terms of recent Minnesota football history and standing among other FBS programs in general.

The fact is he's won five bowl games and four of those were against Power 5 teams. They're of course not on the level of the Rose Bowl or the other NY6 and I think Fleck would be the first to tell you that. As I said in another thread, it's about giving credit where credit is due, while still acknowledging that the program hasn't reached the mountain top.
 



IceBoxGopher said:
Pat has to know that context and nuance matter. I think it's pretty clear that Fleck is speaking in relative terms about his bowl record, both in terms of recent Minnesota football history and standing among other FBS programs in general.

The fact is he's won five bowl games and four of those were against Power 5 teams. They're of course not on the level of the Rose Bowl or the other NY6 and I think Fleck would be the first to tell you that. As I said in another thread, it's about giving credit where credit is due, while still acknowledging that the program hasn't reached the mountain top.
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The question to ask is can Fleck even get them to the mountain top.
 

Yes and Reusse is a much better writer than pretty much any other sports journalist except it’s for writing drivel. We’re so lucky to have him.
 

CentralGopher said:
Yes and Reusse is a much better writer than pretty much any other sports journalist except it’s for writing drivel. We’re so lucky to have him.
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Long ago he was a great read, wrote really well...

Now it's just twitter troll type content for the most part, and I can get that for free on the Internets...
 

BronkosGhost said:
The question to ask is can Fleck even get them to the mountain top.
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In this day and age (NIL, transfer portal, pay for play) there are about 4 teams in the Big Ten that can make it to the mountain top. We are not one of them (neither are Iowa or Wisky). The question to ask is if Fleck is the right coach for our situation and I think he is.
 


Reusse can write quite well.

He also recycles a *lot* of column ideas. And he likes tweaking us on Gopher Hole.

So be it. A lot of his writing can be skimmed over........
 
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BronkosGhost said:
The question to ask is can Fleck even get them to the mountain top.
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Remember, GHolers, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. There are plenty of experienced, winning coaches who are both materially better at recruiting and coaching than PJ, and who are just itching to come coach the Gophers for PJ's salary, right?

If Fleck can't get us to the mountain top, which existing, non-fantasy coach (who would come to Minnesota for a multi-year term for under $9-10M/year) can? There is a belief out there that it is only the head coach--his style, his communication--that alone determines whether top players will come to a college team. Facilities, fan base, the school's tolerance for criminal behavior by team members (GA!), magnitude of NIL (bag money before), climate, recent reputation, etc.--are all irrelevant, right? It's only the head coach.

For me, the question is whether a Minnesota coach can wring the best product possible out of the cards he is dealt and can possibly be dealt in the future. PJ has done pretty well under this standard, though he had some pretty notable stumbles as a coach in 2023. If PJ could be dealt Ryan Day's hand, you might be happier with the results. But he is never going to get Ryan Day's hand (which includes $20M in NIL per year, reportedly).

I believe there is more than one mountain top. Winning everything at any cost is certainly one. Winning a lot of games with fewer resources is another. Winning a lot of games while producing class after class of remarkable true, non-entitled, non-prima-donna student/athletes who will take their places in society as great and productive citizens is another. Frankly, I'm good with that particular mountain top.
 


this all gets back to Fleck saying that 2023 wasn't a disappointing season because the Gopher won a bowl game.

“The narrative around our place right now is, ‘What are you gonna do after the disappointing year?’” Fleck said. “We just won a bowl game. There are people here just trying to get to a bowl game [for the first time] in decades, and we won our fifth in a row.

OK, let's look at the record.
*5-7 overall regular season -- 3-6 in the B1G (tied for last place in B1G West Division)
*Invited to a Bowl game on academics - not on the team's performance
*The Athletic listed the Quick Lane Bowl as last place in their ranking of bowl game importance.
*Gophers win Bowl game, finish 6-7 for season - an overall losing record.

and the coach says it's not a disappointing year because they won a low-level bowl game?
that is putting lipstick on the pig. and that is what Reusse is responding to.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
this all gets back to Fleck saying that 2023 wasn't a disappointing season because the Gopher won a bowl game.

“The narrative around our place right now is, ‘What are you gonna do after the disappointing year?’” Fleck said. “We just won a bowl game. There are people here just trying to get to a bowl game [for the first time] in decades, and we won our fifth in a row.

OK, let's look at the record.
*5-7 overall regular season -- 3-6 in the B1G (tied for last place in B1G West Division)
*Invited to a Bowl game on academics - not on the team's performance
*The Athletic listed the Quick Lane Bowl as last place in their ranking of bowl game importance.
*Gophers win Bowl game, finish 6-7 for season - an overall losing record.

and the coach says it's not a disappointing year because they won a low-level bowl game?
that is putting lipstick on the pig. and that is what Reusse is responding to.
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Fleck isn't pretending last year was incredible. If you listened to his comments during B1G Media Days, I heard Fleck admitting that he and the team fell short in many areas, including the passing game and the return game. He took action by getting a new QB and got some intriguing WRs from the portal and a new ST coordinator.

The quote is him responding to the negativity of last season in a way that sells the program, which is his job. Not sure you're going to make progress in recruiting/portal by saying "yeah, we sucked last year...but hopefully we don't this year"
 

jonnyganas said:
Fleck isn't pretending last year was incredible. If you listened to his comments during B1G Media Days, I heard Fleck admitting that he and the team fell short in many areas, including the passing game and the return game. He took action by getting a new QB and got some intriguing WRs from the portal and a new ST coordinator.

The quote is him responding to the negativity of last season in a way that sells the program, which is his job. Not sure you're going to make progress in recruiting/portal by saying "yeah, we sucked last year...but hopefully we don't this year"
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His response is that there are a lot of worse off programs out there. Even in down year/s he has found a way to keep teams together, competitive and showing up for they Bowl games. IMO that is refreshing.

However, 2024 is a big season IMO. Meeting the national expectation (under 6 wins) would be a huge disappointment to me.
 

Word said:
In this day and age (NIL, transfer portal, pay for play) there are about 4 teams in the Big Ten that can make it to the mountain top. We are not one of them (neither are Iowa or Wisky). The question to ask is if Fleck is the right coach for our situation and I think he is.
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Excuse the pun, but that was almost @Word for @Word what I was going to say.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
this all gets back to Fleck saying that 2023 wasn't a disappointing season because the Gopher won a bowl game.

“The narrative around our place right now is, ‘What are you gonna do after the disappointing year?’” Fleck said. “We just won a bowl game. There are people here just trying to get to a bowl game [for the first time] in decades, and we won our fifth in a row.

OK, let's look at the record.
*5-7 overall regular season -- 3-6 in the B1G (tied for last place in B1G West Division)
*Invited to a Bowl game on academics - not on the team's performance
*The Athletic listed the Quick Lane Bowl as last place in their ranking of bowl game importance.
*Gophers win Bowl game, finish 6-7 for season - an overall losing record.

and the coach says it's not a disappointing year because they won a low-level bowl game?
that is putting lipstick on the pig. and that is what Reusse is responding to.
Click to expand...
I didn't know Reusse was Norwegian ;)
 

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