Rumor: Fleck to be considered for UCLA job.

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ComoCraig said:
While I don't think it's realistic, I'd be over the moon if we somehow landed Vrabel. I think it'd be more likely to see Pete Carroll take the UCLA job than to have Vrabel take our job.

We will be seeing Fleck run out of the tunnel again next year. Another year of headscratching timeouts... home sweet home.
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Vrabel would be gone the second Day (eventually) loses his job at OSU.
 

let's take a look at UCLA football.
1 National Championship - 1954
19 Conference championships - last one in 1998.

from 1976-1995, under Terry Donahue, UCLA won 5 Conf titles. finished top 20 AP/Coaches poll 12 times. went 8-4-1 in Bowl Games

Under Bob Toledo, UCLA had back-to-back 10-2 seasons in 1997 and 1998, finishing #5 and #8 in final polls.

but, starting in 1999, only finished in top 25 AP/Coaches poll 4 times in 25 seasons. 3 10-win seasons (1 under Karl Dorrell, 2 under Jim Mora). 11 losing seasons in 25 years.

Historically, a Helmet school. but in recent history, an average to below-average P5 team.

A challenge for a coach - but an opportunity if that coach could find a way to win more consistently.
 



WindyCityGopher said:
PJ leaves and we hire Mike Vrabel. Big 10 guy gets a chance to take a perpetually middling program to the next step. Or...he says hell no to the circus of college football and takes a paid year off before getting another NFL job in 2025.
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Thought Fickell has Vrabel in his program now or is that not accurate?
 

Vrabel coaching Minnesota in the 2020s is dreamland
 


short ornery norwegian said:
let's take a look at UCLA football.
1 National Championship - 1954
19 Conference championships - last one in 1998.

from 1976-1995, under Terry Donahue, UCLA won 5 Conf titles. finished top 20 AP/Coaches poll 12 times. went 8-4-1 in Bowl Games

Under Bob Toledo, UCLA had back-to-back 10-2 seasons in 1997 and 1998, finishing #5 and #8 in final polls.

but, starting in 1999, only finished in top 25 AP/Coaches poll 4 times in 25 seasons. 3 10-win seasons (1 under Karl Dorrell, 2 under Jim Mora). 11 losing seasons in 25 years.

Historically, a Helmet school. but in recent history, an average to below-average P5 team.

A challenge for a coach - but an opportunity if that coach could find a way to win more consistently.
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and the last championship minnesota has is from the 1960s
 



gopherbad said:
and the last championship minnesota has is from the 1960s
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Are your Hawkeyes excited or disappointed about the possibility of PJ leaving?
 

Would PJ jump to a school in the same conference though? That is literally playing the Gophers next year? While I don't personally think he's as caught up with his personal image/brand as some other fans think (and I'm not looking to debate that point), doing that would certainly reflect negatively on him in a way that I think would stick around even if he was really successful at UCLA. Plus, while him leaving would likely cause a lot of players to transfer, he would still then be coaching against any of his recruits that didn't transfer next year which would burn all of those bridges and probably create at least a handful of players who would resent him for the rest of their lives.

Plus, Chip Kelly's salary and PJ's salary were basically the same last year as far as a quick google search tells me, so PJ would also likely not get much of an increase in salary if he got one at all. In fact, with his performance this past season, he may take a pay cut (I know, I know, this is a charged phrase when referring to PJ and him changing schools) if he went to UCLA. Not to mention the LA area is a lot more expensive cost of living wise, and the traffic is a lot worse too, so the day to day quality of his life would probably go down a bit too.

Also, honest question, when was the last time a HEAD COACH left for the same position at another school in the same conference? I know it happens with coordinators semi-frequently, but has that ever happened with a head coach?
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
PJ made slightly more than Chip Kelly did last season. He's not getting a 50% bump to go to UCLA.
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What I found has Kelly and PJ both making basically $6MM/year. Of course, UCLA was paying that salary with the garbage PAC12 media contract. They'll be getting a healthy raise in the B1G, so maybe they could pay more. Still, add the higher taxes and much higher cost of living, and even with a raise his actual usable cash flow is likely lower if he leaves to a place like UCLA.

edit: looks like Taji beat me to it!
 

I could see it, simply because Fleck's ego is so big.

If it were USC, I think he'd be easy gone. Program with a lot of glory. UCLA not so much, other than Rose Bowl.

Big Ten to Big Ten. UCLA is good recruiting grounds but that's about it. Very very expensive, to live there.
 






GophersInIowa said:
Word has always been that Heather likes the big city. LA is pretty big.

It would be a lot more pressure there though I would think.
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I don't think UCLA cares all that much more than Minnesota does. They probably have a smaller fan base, or at least a smaller one that shows up to games. Chip was given plenty of rope despite going 10-21 his first 3 years at UCLA.
 

Gophers1992 said:
I don't think UCLA cares all that much more than Minnesota does. They probably have a smaller fan base, or at least a smaller one that shows up to games. Chip was given plenty of rope despite going 10-21 his first 3 years at UCLA.
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You're probably right. I subconsciously put UCLA on a similar level as USC when it comes to this but clearly shouldn't.
 


My question is where does Fleck think this program is at. First of all, I think when he was hired, he was expecting multiple west titles with a chance to win the whole big 10. I think it's tougher here than he thought it would be. Tougher by far!

Also, where does he see this team at right now? They were ripped in the last 4 games and couldn't stop a gnat. He wants the passing game to be competitive and it just doesn't seem to happen. I sometimes think this is the perfect time for him to cash it in.

I think he's come to the realization here, that it's going to be even harder to get over the hump now.

Also, I'm in the boat of, if he stays, he stays.......if he leaves, he leaves.

It's not a big deal either way to me.
 

Losing PJ would be a terrible loss for Gopher Football, the state of Minnesota & the Gopher football fans. He is one of the best coaches we have ever had. Bringing Honor, Integrity, Academic excellence to a program which were sorely lacking before his hiring. Coaching has changed since his hire & PJ has adapted to meet those challenges. Wins alone do not bring pride to a football program with PJ's qualities they do. Not everyone can or should be a player, coach or fan of Minnesota Gopher football. Great coaches like great bosses know & never put a person in a position to fail but to succeed. AK could not or would not adapt to new coaching last season, thus the constant decline in his play as the season progressed. Great coaching lead us to a winning bowl game.
 

kg21 said:
My question is where does Fleck think this program is at. First of all, I think when he was hired, he was expecting multiple west titles with a chance to win the whole big 10. I think it's tougher here than he thought it would be. Tougher by far!

Also, where does he see this team at right now? They were ripped in the last 4 games and couldn't stop a gnat. He wants the passing game to be competitive and it just doesn't seem to happen. I sometimes think this is the perfect time for him to cash it in.

I think he's come to the realization here, that it's going to be even harder to get over the hump now.

Also, I'm in the boat of, if he stays, he stays.......if he leaves, he leaves.

It's not a big deal either way to me.
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With divisions going away + NIL, Gophers will probably never win another Big Ten conference title. He's taken the program to where it can go. Now he can go do the same for a few years at UCLA.
 

ComoCraig said:
Move to LA, pay California taxes, coach the 2nd best college team in a city with 10 pro teams, and pay more for everything

or

Stay in Minnesota, keep your mansion on the lake, be the face of college football in the state, and use your established success to keep your ass out of the hotseat

Doesn't seem like as much of a no brainer as you make it seem.
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While I agree, someone might be able to help offset the cost(s) of living at UCLA.
 


PJF’s style of offense is a much better fit in the Big West division and we have not seen him change much during his tenure here. I agree with this would be terrible timing to lose him and hope it does not happen.
 


I mean, what do you expect them to be looking for? A person of little integrity and desire? lol
 

GringaGopher said:
PJF’s style of offense is a much better fit in the Big West division and we have not seen him change much during his tenure here. I agree with this would be terrible timing to lose him and hope it does not happen.
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His style of offense isn't far off from Harbaugh at Michigan. Talent levels were different and Michigan has stout defense. Recruiting to one of 4 power 2 schools on the West coast would raise his level of talent. He would need to hire higher profile assistants however.
 



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