UCLA Wire: Revisiting the PJ Fleck-UCLA coaching rumors

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Per Matt:

When Chip Kelly shocking left UCLA to become the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, plenty of candidate options swirled.

One of them was Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck. However, after rumors of Fleck coming to Westwood, he decided to stay in Minnesota, and the Bruins then hired DeShaun Foster after he briefly left for a job with the Las Vegas Raiders.

With UCLA facing Minnesota in Big Ten Conference play, it’s a good time to revisit those Fleck-UCLA rumors. While it didn’t happen, the possibilities loomed for some time.

uclawire.usatoday.com

Revisiting the PJ Fleck-UCLA coaching rumors

Remember those rumblings?
uclawire.usatoday.com uclawire.usatoday.com

Go Gophers!!
 



PJs agent is either in cahoots with Coyle or just run circles around him obviously more likely the latter and it’s a low bar.
 

Ah conspiracies, some people can't survive without them.
 



What happened was PJ went for an interview but didn't know what city UCLA is in. Obviously he didn't get the job and returned to Minnesota. But they found a guy that did know geography and the rest is history.
 


UCLA athletic dept had a deficit approaching $100-million when they agreed to join the B1G. they needed the money.

Fleck is making over $6-millon at MN. the new UCLA coach is making about $3-million.

Fleck's agent used the rumors to entice (trick?) Coyle into giving Fleck the amended contract with the retention bonus.
 




BTChamp said:
What happened was PJ went for an interview but didn't know what city UCLA is in. Obviously he didn't get the job and returned to Minnesota. But they found a guy that did know geography and the rest is history.
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A South Dakota blizzard disrupted his phone service on the way there and he never got the offer...
 





RememberMurray said:
Yeah... MAJORLY.
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So, losing a 21-point lead at the end of 3 Quarters to Northwestern and the game in OT, a 5-point lead with Illinois at their own 15 on 4th and 15 and with the starting QB unable to continue with a minute remaining, and failing to show up to the Purdue game at giving up more than 2.5x Purdue's average points in the process, and needing one win to be bowl eligible against your hated 6-5 rival at home and then not showing up for the second half when tied is what, a minor blip in the road?

I'm checking to ensure my adjectives align with your expectations going forward.
 


btowngopher said:
The extension was in 2022.
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People never let facts get in the way of a good, unfounded rant. 😂

You are correct that he got an actual extension in 2022. He did get an ammendment in 2024 but from my perspective it was all generally in the football programs best interest....more money for assistants and stability for PJ staying


Fleck agreed to a contract amendment that includes an annual bonus for him and an increased salary pool for his staff and assistant coaches. The amendment also includes retention bonuses for Fleck if he stays with the team through the 2029 season
 

caliGopher said:
So, losing a 21-point lead at the end of 3 Quarters to Northwestern and the game in OT, a 5-point lead with Illinois at their own 15 on 4th and 15 and with the starting QB unable to continue with a minute remaining, and failing to show up to the Purdue game at giving up more than 2.5x Purdue's average points in the process, and needing one win to be bowl eligible against your hated 6-5 rival at home and then not showing up for the second half when tied is what, a minor blip in the road?

I'm checking to ensure my adjectives align with your expectations going forward.
Click to expand...
It was a super disappointing season, and I think Fleck deserves some of the blame…and I won’t begrudge you for assigning him more than I (or others) do. But in retrospect, it’s tough to win games with a pretty awful QB and your top offensive player hurt much of the B1G season. Plus the defense under Rossi was very banged up most of the year (LB core especially) and much worse than expected despite having a respected coordinator. I have a hard time blaming Fleck for that side of the ball, and the Illinois loss is case in point. He didn’t call that 4th down scheme, and he didn’t force Tyler Nubin to play it horribly. I suppose you can blame recruiting in years prior for lack of depth on both sides…

As for that NW meltdown, they turned out to be better than most thought, and while you never want to see that happen to your favorite team, it does happen. MN was a bad offsides call from doing the same thing to Mich a few weeks ago. A HORRIBLE Purdue team actually did come back from a similar deficit against Illinois yesterday to force OT.
 

caliGopher said:
So, losing a 21-point lead at the end of 3 Quarters to Northwestern and the game in OT, a 5-point lead with Illinois at their own 15 on 4th and 15 and with the starting QB unable to continue with a minute remaining, and failing to show up to the Purdue game at giving up more than 2.5x Purdue's average points in the process, and needing one win to be bowl eligible against your hated 6-5 rival at home and then not showing up for the second half when tied is what, a minor blip in the road?

I'm checking to ensure my adjectives align with your expectations going forward.
Click to expand...

I feel your anger, frustration, bitterness, etc.

Okay, I have to come clean: I'm really not feeling any of that.

Look, you seem unhappy. If we assume you're a Gopher football fan, maybe this will cheer you up a little... the team has just won two big games — exciting, entertaining games, at that.

I hope that lightens your mood a little.
 

caliGopher said:
So, losing a 21-point lead at the end of 3 Quarters to Northwestern and the game in OT, a 5-point lead with Illinois at their own 15 on 4th and 15 and with the starting QB unable to continue with a minute remaining, and failing to show up to the Purdue game at giving up more than 2.5x Purdue's average points in the process, and needing one win to be bowl eligible against your hated 6-5 rival at home and then not showing up for the second half when tied is what, a minor blip in the road?

I'm checking to ensure my adjectives align with your expectations going forward.
Click to expand...
You just going to ignore that you were wrong about the extention...cause if so you might as well just walk away from this because you are making yourself look as silly as hello-world :ROFLMAO: :oops:
 

RememberMurray said:
I feel your anger, frustration, bitterness, etc.

Okay, I have to come clean: I'm really not feeling any of that.

Look, you seem unhappy. If we assume you're a Gopher football fan, maybe this will cheer you up a little... the team has just won two big games — exciting, entertaining games, at that.

I hope that lightens your mood a little.
Click to expand...

caliGopher has hated PJ since day 1. That's all you really need to know about them.
 

MGGopher said:
It was a super disappointing season, and I think Fleck deserves some of the blame…and I won’t begrudge you for assigning him more than I (or others) do. But in retrospect, it’s tough to win games with a pretty awful QB and your top offensive player hurt much of the B1G season. Plus the defense under Rossi was very banged up most of the year (LB core especially) and much worse than expected despite having a respected coordinator. I have a hard time blaming Fleck for that side of the ball, and the Illinois loss is case in point. He didn’t call that 4th down scheme, and he didn’t force Tyler Nubin to play it horribly. I suppose you can blame recruiting in years prior for lack of depth on both sides…

As for that NW meltdown, they turned out to be better than most thought, and while you never want to see that happen to your favorite team, it does happen. MN was a bad offsides call from doing the same thing to Mich a few weeks ago. A HORRIBLE Purdue team actually did come back from a similar deficit against Illinois yesterday to force OT.
Click to expand...
I had to stop reading when you said “some of the blame.”
It shouldn’t be all the blame, but it should be the lions share.
 

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