My cynicism:
- I'm worried that Fleck is another MAC coach that can't transition to the Big 10. Can he win with less? We know he can win when he has the best recruits in his conference--as great as he is at recruiting, he very likely will not (or maybe never) have the top Big Ten recruiting class at Minnesota.
- I think that success comes down to resources & environment. College football/sports has one of the most lopsided playing fields in terms of resources/environment. It is amazing we ever beat tOSU, Michigan, Penn State given how much resources they have and support in comparison to our school. This is a structural issue and a big reason why Minnesota has struggled over many, many years. There is no parity in resources similar to what the NFL does.
- We're in a pro sports town. When I was younger, I thought this was a lame excuse. Now, having traveled more to big college atmospheres and towns, I realize that most all big college programs are in areas where the college team is the main event. As much as I love the Vikings, if they would have left a few years back, it would have helped the Gopher football team. At Tuscaloosa, Columbus, Happy Valley, Ann Arbor, etc., the Student-Athlete football players are gods. Here, they are not. The whole world revolves around these programs in major college towns. These cities bleed their college colors. Not as much here.
Positives:
+ Most of my cynicism has nothing to do with Fleck. I have no reason to doubt his success and I do believe past success normally translates to future success.
+ Fleck built a garbage program up to 13-1. Have we ever hired a coach with that kind of record?
+ On a related note, we're hiring an experienced coach with a good pedigree. In the past, when we've hired experienced and successful coaches it has lead to improvement of the program. Kill had won his conferences in the past (1x at NIU, 3x at SIU), as had Lou Holtz. Just go to wiki and look at the crappy/mediocre/non-existent records of our past Gopher Football coaches before they coached at the U. It is no wonder we haven't won big for many years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Golden_Gophers_football
+ Finally, Fleck seems unique in a good way. His personality is undeniable. He has vision, can build a program up, and motivates players and the fanbase. He may be exactly what the U needs.