BleedGopher
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Per Randy:
In January of 2017, Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle made the most important decision in his tenure at Minnesota. He hired P.J. Fleck as Gophers football coach, replacing Tracy Claeys, who was fired after a 9-4 season that was successful on the field but marred by a sexual assault investigation, suspensions and subsequent players boycott.
“Nine wins is a good season, and the Holiday Bowl [win] was good, but we needed to shake the tree,” Coyle said while introducing Fleck as coach. “We needed to do something different.”
Consider the tree shaken and the program stirred.
In Fleck, the Gophers landed a 36-year-old bundle of energy who had just led Western Michigan to a 13-0 regular season and Cotton Bowl appearance. A former NFL wide receiver, Fleck arrived in Dinkytown with a mandate to change the program’s culture. “I’ve got news for everybody,” he declared. “Change has arrived.”
Eight years later, Fleck has built upon that change.
He’ll open his ninth season as Gophers coach on Thursday night against Buffalo at Huntington Bank Stadium, and suddenly he’s the fifth-longest-tenured coach in program history. He’s raised both the floor and the ceiling for the program, and with it, the expectations of fans starving for a Big Ten championship.
Fleck carries a 58-39 record into the opener, and his .598 win percentage trails only Henry L. Williams (.786) and Bernie Bierman (.727) among Gophers coaches. The Gophers under Fleck won a share of the Big Ten West Division title in 2019, going 11-2 with a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press and coaches polls, their best finish since 1962. Seven of Fleck’s Gophers have earned All-America honors.
“A job of any head football coach is to create a standard that’s really high, and you continue to either meet that standard and then create another standard,” Fleck said. “You want to raise the level of expectation within the program, constantly on the field, off the field, and I think we’ve continued to do that. I don’t think we’ve ever sat back and settled for anything.”
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
In January of 2017, Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle made the most important decision in his tenure at Minnesota. He hired P.J. Fleck as Gophers football coach, replacing Tracy Claeys, who was fired after a 9-4 season that was successful on the field but marred by a sexual assault investigation, suspensions and subsequent players boycott.
“Nine wins is a good season, and the Holiday Bowl [win] was good, but we needed to shake the tree,” Coyle said while introducing Fleck as coach. “We needed to do something different.”
Consider the tree shaken and the program stirred.
In Fleck, the Gophers landed a 36-year-old bundle of energy who had just led Western Michigan to a 13-0 regular season and Cotton Bowl appearance. A former NFL wide receiver, Fleck arrived in Dinkytown with a mandate to change the program’s culture. “I’ve got news for everybody,” he declared. “Change has arrived.”
Eight years later, Fleck has built upon that change.
He’ll open his ninth season as Gophers coach on Thursday night against Buffalo at Huntington Bank Stadium, and suddenly he’s the fifth-longest-tenured coach in program history. He’s raised both the floor and the ceiling for the program, and with it, the expectations of fans starving for a Big Ten championship.
Fleck carries a 58-39 record into the opener, and his .598 win percentage trails only Henry L. Williams (.786) and Bernie Bierman (.727) among Gophers coaches. The Gophers under Fleck won a share of the Big Ten West Division title in 2019, going 11-2 with a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press and coaches polls, their best finish since 1962. Seven of Fleck’s Gophers have earned All-America honors.
“A job of any head football coach is to create a standard that’s really high, and you continue to either meet that standard and then create another standard,” Fleck said. “You want to raise the level of expectation within the program, constantly on the field, off the field, and I think we’ve continued to do that. I don’t think we’ve ever sat back and settled for anything.”
P.J. Fleck has raised the Gophers floor, but can he now raise their ceiling?
Entering his ninth season leading the Minnesota Gophers, head coach P.J. Fleck has a favorable schedule and could threaten double digit wins for just the second time in Dinkytown.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
