What grade would you give PJ Fleck, 3 years into his tenure at the U?

What grade would you give PJ Fleck, 3 years into his tenure at the U?

  • A

    Votes: 200 87.0%

  • B

    Votes: 30 13.0%

  • C

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • D

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • F

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    230
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I am expecting many of the criticisms of underwhelming recruiting will dissipate as the 2021 class fills up. I feel confident that it's going to be a special group.

Certainly in the A range, I'd probably lean towards A- for some of the issues raised already from 2017 and 2018.
 

What the hell are some of you thinking. You should be 80 like I am and sat through 60 years of mostly crap football, lousy crowds, and one scandal after another. This is the best three years of Gopher football since Bernie Berman.
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

GO4FAN65 said:
What the hell are some of you thinking. You should be 80 like I am and sat through 60 years of mostly crap football, lousy crowds, and one scandal after another. This is the best three years of Gopher football since Bernie Berman.
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Um ... no it isn't. Perhaps you were out of the country 1960-1962? National champion and two Rose Bowls. I'm only a few years younger but this single year seemed more fun than any one of those years.
 

WriterGoph said:
This year, sure. Because it would have meant we got to the Big Ten title game. But in nearly any year, I think wins over helmet schools like Penn State and Auburn will almost always strengthen the brand more on a national level.
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Nah, not just this year, any year. For me and my enjoyment I would rather beat a bad Iowa/Wisconsin/Michigan team than a great Auburn (or similar) team.
 

fair said:
I find it hard to believe that anyone 3 years ago would be able to look at what he has done and not deem it worthy of an A. Who really expected that we would be CFP contenders with 2 top-15 wins and hosting Gameday? The fact that people are still wanting more shows how the expectations for the program have changed.

An A doesn't mean perfect. What classes have you taken that require 100% for an A? The rivalry record is an obvious stain, but Iowa and Wiscy are consistently the top 2 teams in the West. It's not like his predecessors had much success there anyways.
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They’re Minnesota “fans”. Can’t help it.
 


He's reach the peak of the first zig on his chart.
 

Ski U Master said:
Nah, not just this year, any year. For me and my enjoyment I would rather beat a bad Iowa/Wisconsin/Michigan team than a great Auburn (or similar) team.
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I still gave Fleck an A, but I agree with this statement.
 


Ski U Master said:
Nah, not just this year, any year. For me and my enjoyment I would rather beat a bad Iowa/Wisconsin/Michigan team than a great Auburn (or similar) team.
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Fair enough. I work with several LSU fans. They all thought Auburn would easily beat the Gophers. They all came away very impressed with the Gophers. A convincing win against a good SEC team will help change the national perception of the Gophers. Will also help recruiting in Florida, Georgia, Texas, etc.
 



It is no doubt an A. 11 wins is extremely difficult to achieve and he prepared his team to arrive in year zero and year 1. In year 2 he delivered the goods. We even had an outside chance at going to the NC. When was the last time that realistically was a possibility? Never. So, this is not only an A for this year, but for the planning years. This growth was managed. It is not a fluke of time. It was planned and executed to perfection. Fleck is by far the best team manager and developer of talent both on the field and in the coaching ranks that we have seen here ever.
 

It has to be an A to develop the 46th most talented roster (according to 247) into a team that can win 11 games and beat the likes of Penn State and Auburn....in just 3 years.

As I was looking at his resume the other day, I was thinking about how ridiculous it was for a wide receiver coach to take over an FBS team like Western Michigan and do what he did in such a short time. He knows what he’s doing.
 

PitinoFan said:
It has to be an A to develop the 46th most talented roster (according to 247) into a team that can win 11 games and beat the likes of Penn State and Auburn....in just 3 years.

As I was looking at his resume the other day, I was thinking about how ridiculous it was for a wide receiver coach to take over an FBS team like Western Michigan and do what he did in such a short time. He knows what he’s doing.
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It was around 60th most talented when he took over.
 

Dean S said:
It is no doubt an A. 11 wins is extremely difficult to achieve and he prepared his team to arrive in year zero and year 1. In year 2 he delivered the goods. We even had an outside chance at going to the NC. When was the last time that realistically was a possibility? Never. So, this is not only an A for this year, but for the planning years. This growth was managed. It is not a fluke of time. It was planned and executed to perfection. Fleck is by far the best team manager and developer of talent both on the field and in the coaching ranks that we have seen here ever.
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Well. SOMEONE make sense!
 



A.

11-2 in Year 2 is A-level work with Minnesota as the base material...and to really dig into my own biases...yes, Coach inherited a 9-win team...but did not drive it into the ground which easily could have happened.

The bar is raised. This is a good thing.

Progress.
 

A- home attendance could be better, but heck we just beat Auburn soundly, and we went 11-2.
 

I'll forego the grade (I hate these polls), but I'm with Mulligan and GO4FAN65 (I'm a tad younger in my mid-60s) in that this was a really fun season and I like the direction of the program. As a malaproper I knew once said "I'm not going to cast asparagus" on previous regimes, but I don't think I've been as comfortable with a coach since Warmath as I am with Fleck (I figured this was just a rest stop for Holtz). There were some fits-and-starts his first two seasons, but he has a plan and he's stuck to it.
 

GFBfan said:
B
Being 1-5 in against our two biggest rivals and no Big West Title doesn't deserve an A.
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Ha I’d like to know what your grade for a couple other coaches we’ve had would be if that’s the main factor you’re looking at.
 

I gave him a B because we didn't go to the Rose Bowl. Really would have been a B+ but that was not a choice.
 

A so far. Although obviously it remains to be seen what he can maintain.
 


Definitely an A for me.
Rob Smith Era (8-13)
Post Rob Smith (15-3)
Something clicked after Rob was let go. It wasn't a great hire, but he had the guts to make the move and the players bought in.
Offensively an amazing turn around that I hope continues.
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
Definitely an A for me.
Rob Smith Era (8-13)
Post Rob Smith (15-3)
Something clicked after Rob was let go. It wasn't a great hire, but he had the guts to make the move and the players bought in.
Offensively an amazing turn around that I hope continues.
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It really is shocking to see the drastic shift that took place as soon as that move was made.

And far and away the most impressive part of that 15-3 is that the 3 non-conf games from this season are the only non-power 5 teams in that 18 game span.
 

They beat Auburn who beat Alabama (and Oregon). Gotta be an A
 

PMWinSTP said:
For he three years combined?
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Yes, I think so. Were there C, D, and F moments? Absolutely. But the team has shown constant improvement (firing Smith was certainly A worthy) in all areas of the game, albeit special teams do pose a threat to his maintaining an A. I do grade on a curve however so future A's will be much harder to achieve.
 

PMWinSTP said:
For he three years combined?
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Absolutely an A for all three years combined.

In his first year (2017) he:
1. Changed offenses from Read Option to Run Pass Option.
2. Changed the inside zone blocking to a more complicated scheme.
3. Had two QBs that didn’t really fit his system (Rhoda and Croft)
4. Changed the ‘culture‘ to one of more personal responsibility.
5. Had at least one player openly dissent his culture (Croft).
6. Had to deal with the fallout from the previous regime’s scandal.

In 2018 he started a true freshman QB and then after the 9th game, with a losing record, he fires his good friend and Defensive coordinator (Smith), and still makes a Bowl game and decisively wins it.

Then of course this year he gets the Gophers into the playoff discussion, beats two top 15 teams and only loses to two top 20 teams.

How can anyone not give Fleck an A?
 

I would have to give it an A. I mean the Gophers just had their best season in decades. Felt like every week they were accomplishing something that hadn't been done since 1904.

Most importantly he is changing the narrative about this program and the expectations have been raised.
 

BroncoRedux said:
Yes, I think so. Were there C, D, and F moments? Absolutely. But the team has shown constant improvement (firing Smith was certainly A worthy) in all areas of the game, albeit special teams do pose a threat to his maintaining an A. I do grade on a curve however so future A's will be much harder to achieve.
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We just won 11 games with arguably the worst special teams we've seen many years. So how much do special teams really matter in college?
 

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