Vikings should Hire PJ Fleck

[1983]

After the Vikings get pounded by the Saints, the Vikings should hire PJ Fleck. PJ understands culture and is always stressing a player’s strengths vs weaknesses. His teams play loose with positive energy. The Vikings have too much talent NOT to be able to win big games. PJ took a team with above average talent and competed with the best. PJ’s style will work in the NFL.

Fleck is not a pro coach...yet and would have to change up his approach. Not going to employ his "way" now to professionals.

 

[upnorthkid]

PJ would be an absolute disaster in the NFL

 

[Word]

After the Vikings get pounded by the Saints, the Vikings should hire PJ Fleck. PJ understands culture and is always stressing a player’s strengths vs weaknesses. His teams play loose with positive energy. The Vikings have too much talent NOT to be able to win big games. PJ took a team with above average talent and competed with the best. PJ’s style will work in the NFL.

NO

 

[DEGopher]

I agree. They should hire Fleck on a part time basis as their "motivational speaker"

 

[STPGopher]

No. All sorts of no.

There are certain coaches who are perfect for the college game and not a fit for the pro game. PJ is one of those. It's not a knock on him, it's a complement. Do what you do best and do it better than anyone else. That's PJ, that's college.

Go Gophers!!

Agree! To quote Chris Tucker (who will be here soon)...

 

[highwayman]

After the Vikings get pounded by the Saints, the Vikings should hire PJ Fleck. PJ understands culture and is always stressing a player’s strengths vs weaknesses. His teams play loose with positive energy. The Vikings have too much talent NOT to be able to win big games. PJ took a team with above average talent and competed with the best. PJ’s style will work in the NFL.

And when the Vikings beat the Saints, which in the NFL playoffs is 50-50, this thread will die its inevitable death. Zimmer is the best of the last 6-1/2 Viking coaches. By a wide margin.

 

[imthewalrus]

Not to change the thread direction, but the 50s/60s were also a time that universities were questioning the commitment to big time athletics related to the chaos in recruiting that existed in prior decades. It's my understanding that Minnesota didn't investment much in football starting in the 60s into the 90s.

I really don’t believe that it is possible to ignore the 1960 arrival in the Twin Cities of the Twins and the Vikings and the impact these two organizations had. The NFL & MLB not only provided competition for the ticket sales, they both introduced the concept of the power of television in capturing the interests, loyalties and habits of the general public.

Pro sports in Minnesota pretty much consisted of “pro wrassling”, the St Paul & Minneapolis Tripple A baseball teams, the Saints & the Millers and the Minneapolis Lakers, very successful and powerful NBA franchise. By the mid to late1950’s, MLB was experiencing a need to EXPAND or fail. The Dodgers, the Giants and the Yankees all in the same metro area proved a challenge for the Baseball ownership power owners. The pie was too small and was cut into too many pieces. The O’Malley owned Dodgers headed out to LA and a new stadium. Horace Stoneham was very interested in moving his Giants team west in exchange for the expanded offers of money, large population areas and new stadium considerations. He was very interested in Minneapolis/St Paul, but was also allured with the huge west coast marketing area and population of San Francisco & the Bay Area. And his old friend, the Dodgers needed to be National League rivals in the same state.

Horrace was skeptical that the smaller population would ever embrace baseball properly. He felt that Minnesota would always be Gopher Football oriented...due in part to the great runs Gopher football had historically and the great Bierman Era of the 1930’s and 1940’s. He took his franchise to San Francisco.

By the late 1950’s. Bob Short’sMinneapolis Lakers
franchise was falling on hard times in spite of all their NBA championships and headed to the magical, mystical promises of Hollywood, a large city with wealth, glitz and glamor.

In that same time frame the Washington DC mlb franchise was desperate to reap the benefits an infusion of energy, potential fan base and wealth a move to Minnesota might bring his franchise

one year later The Washington Senators franchise was awarded to Minnesota. The rest is history. Expansion paved the way for the establishment of new tv markets Before long, the professional mlb and nfl products were distributed free of charge into living rooms all across Minnesota. Stoneham was wrong: Minnesota fell in love with free mlb and nfl games being displayed into their homes. No need to buy tickets, travel,

Expansion and televising professional baseball and football changed everything about the popularity and financial viability of being a “joe-six pack fan...”

The nfl has pretty much won this competition for loyalty, devotion and financial success for franchises. And then, fantasy football was introduced. People can now be actively involved without really caring about any specific team. And sports betting can be much more important than buying tickets t’s actually attend games in a college football stadium.

And since when has there ever been a de-emphasis on the recruiting of college scholarship athletes ? Building competitions. of arms races for coaching salaries and facilities on college campus settings are all said to be essential in the recruiting of potential athletes. The college sports industry does not really de-emphasize football recruiting. They put rules in place and then sign bigger and better tv contracts, build facilities, and pay coaches , especially effective recruiting experts more.

I really do think the nfl hurt the Gopher football position in the state and in the hearts and minds of fans who have limited numbers of sports tickets they can buy. The nfl is better at marketing it’s product than the GOPHER football program has been ever since 1961. Perhaps Coach Fleck can help change that reality!

 

[Mitu]

I really don’t believe that it is possible to ignore the 1960 arrival in the Twin Cities of the Twins and the Vikings and the impact these two organizations had. The NFL & MLB not only provided competition for the ticket sales, they both introduced the concept of the power of television in capturing the interests, loyalties and habits of the general public.

Pro sports in Minnesota pretty much consisted of “pro wrassling”, the St Paul & Minneapolis Tripple A baseball teams, the Saints & the Millers and the Minneapolis Lakers, very successful and powerful NBA franchise. By the mid to late1950’s, MLB was experiencing a need to EXPAND or fail. The Dodgers, the Giants and the Yankees all in the same metro area proved a challenge for the Baseball ownership power owners. The pie was too small and was cut into too many pieces. The O’Malley owned Dodgers headed out to LA and a new stadium. Horace Stoneham was very interested in moving his Giants team west in exchange for the expanded offers of money, large population areas and new stadium considerations. He was very interested in Minneapolis/St Paul, but was also allured with the huge west coast marketing area and population of San Francisco & the Bay Area. And his old friend, the Dodgers needed to be National League rivals in the same state.

Horrace was skeptical that the smaller population would ever embrace baseball properly. He felt that Minnesota would always be Gopher Football oriented...due in part to the great runs Gopher football had historically and the great Bierman Era of the 1930’s and 1940’s. He took his franchise to San Francisco.

By the late 1950’s. Bob Short’sMinneapolis Lakers
franchise was falling on hard times in spite of all their NBA championships and headed to the magical, mystical promises of Hollywood, a large city with wealth, glitz and glamor.

In that same time frame the Washington DC mlb franchise was desperate to reap the benefits an infusion of energy, potential fan base and wealth a move to Minnesota might bring his franchise

one year later The Washington Senators franchise was awarded to Minnesota. The rest is history. Expansion paved the way for the establishment of new tv markets Before long, the professional mlb and nfl products were distributed free of charge into living rooms all across Minnesota. Stoneham was wrong: Minnesota fell in love with free mlb and nfl games being displayed into their homes. No need to buy tickets, travel,

Expansion and televising professional baseball and football changed everything about the popularity and financial viability of being a “joe-six pack fan...”

The nfl has pretty much won this competition for loyalty, devotion and financial success for franchises. And then, fantasy football was introduced. People can now be actively involved without really caring about any specific team. And sports betting can be much more important than buying tickets t’s actually attend games in a college football stadium.

And since when has there ever been a de-emphasis on the recruiting of college scholarship athletes ? Building competitions. of arms races for coaching salaries and facilities on college campus settings are all said to be essential in the recruiting of potential athletes. The college sports industry does not really de-emphasize football recruiting. They put rules in place and then sign bigger and better tv contracts, build facilities, and pay coaches , especially effective recruiting experts more.

I really do think the nfl hurt the Gopher football position in the state and in the hearts and minds of fans who have limited numbers of sports tickets they can buy. The nfl is better at marketing it’s product than the GOPHER football program has been ever since 1961. Perhaps Coach Fleck can help change that reality!

This was actually a really interesting history lesson, thanks for posting.