Why PJ flack is the correct coach for Minnesota..

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Donovan said:
I think I’m with the majority of people that are fine with P.J. because we fear the odds are the next coach would be worse. If he chose to leave on his own accord, I would be a little disappointed, but wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

On the Gopher Gridiron podcast (highly recommended) I think Ryan and Derek Burns nailed the biggest issue with this team: a failed/bust recruiting class of offensive linemen from a few years ago. I think this has really hamstrung the team along with a disappointing portal class this year. Obviously this shortfall is on the coaching staff, but I don’t expect no glitches. It happens, hopefully not often. I want to see what this upcoming recruiting class can do.

Referencing an earlier post, we need one of us to win the PowerBall and become a sugar daddy for the team.
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They were discussing portal season and all the misses this cycle. In contrast to the old days it sounds like a madcap musical chairs exercise and you essentially sometimes take who you can get over a very short timeframe. I don’t like the single portal window for a lot of reasons but that’s one of them, and I wonder how the coaches are making their evaluations in such a system. I wonder how much of it is going through their own evaluations, or how much is communication with other staffs, relationships with coaches in FCS etc and trust their opinions on players ability and attitude…dunno. Paying way too many non-contributors.
 

We have one or two per season, but not 5-8 per season like the "blue blodd" schools every year. That's what you need to win championships.
 

Texan Gopher said:
I'm seeing a lot of people here posting about PJ fleck needing to be replaced or hoping he goes somewhere else. Do you guys remember what we were like before him? I get that he has been good, not great (sans the 1 year). Do you realize how little money we have to play with?

In his time here, here are three stats that hopefully makes sense to everyone. And yes, I wish we could take the next step to become a consistent top 20 team, but we are Minnesota and we are a liberal school that puts little into the football program

P.J. Fleck at Minnesota (2017–2025)

📅 Year-by-Year Record & Bowl Outcomes
- 2017: 5–7 (no bowl)
- 2018: 7–6 → Quick Lane Bowl win (vs. Georgia Tech)
- 2019: 11–2 → Outback Bowl win (vs. Auburn)
- 2020: 3–4 (COVID year, no bowl)
- 2021: 9–4 → Guaranteed Rate Bowl win (vs. West Virginia)
- 2022: 9–4 → Pinstripe Bowl win (vs. Syracuse)
- 2023: 6–7 → Quick Lane Bowl win (vs. Bowling Green)
- 2024: 8–5 → Duke’s Mayo Bowl win (vs. NC State)
- 2025: Season ongoing and we made a bowl game....Again.


Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Results Under P.J. Fleck

| Year | Location | Final Score | Winner |
|------|---------------|-------------|--------|
| 2017 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 31 – Minnesota 0 | Wisconsin |
| 2018 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 37 – Wisconsin 15 | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 38 – Minnesota 17 | Wisconsin |
| 2020 | Madison, WI | Wisconsin 20 – Minnesota 17 (OT) | Wisconsin |
| 2021 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 23 – Wisconsin 13 | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 23 – Wisconsin 16 | Minnesota |
| 2023 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 28 – Minnesota 14 | Wisconsin |
| 2024 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 24 – Wisconsin 7 | Minnesota |


Minnesota vs. Nebraska Results Under P.J. Fleck

| Year | Location | Final Score | Winner |
|------|-----------------|-------------|--------|
| 2017 | Minneapolis, MN | Nebraska 28 – Minnesota 24 | Nebraska |
| 2018 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 34 – Nebraska 31 | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 34 – Nebraska 7 | Minnesota |
| 2020 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 24 – Nebraska 17 | Minnesota |
| 2021 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 30 – Nebraska 23 | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 20 – Nebraska 13 | Minnesota |
| 2023 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 13 – Nebraska 10 | Minnesota |
| 2025 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 24 – Nebraska 6 | Minnesota |


If you would have told me this when I was in junior high, high school, or college or even a few years after college I would have told you this is never going to happen. We couldn't beat Nebraska. We couldn't beat Wisconsin. We were lucky to make a bowl game once every 4 or 5 years.


I am just as frustrated as everybody that we haven't become consistently great, but this is the best decade run we have had in my lifetime. I'm at the point now or it's just time to enjoy it. Row the boat. Ski U Mah. Row the boat! Go beat the f*** out of the badgers tomorrow.
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Fleck is the correct coach for Minnesota for the greatest reason there is: he holds a long-term contract with the U of M. Thatis all anyone needs to know about the status of the situation. Period. End of story.
 

PMWinSTP said:
MN vs Iowa?
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Or failing, unlike Mason and Kill, to finish off a weak Michigan team?

But I don't want to mess with a good rant.

Fleck's not getting fired.

He shouldn't be.

But we can stop lionizing him for benefiting from a very weak B1G West and for having teams not prepared to play, regularly over his 9 years here.
 

5–7 1–10
7–6 3–9
11–2 7–5
3–4 11–2
9–4 10–3
9–4 10–2
6–7 7–5
8–5 6–7
6–5 6–6

64-44 61-49
0.593 0.555

The first column is PJ Fleck's first 9 seasons at Minnesota. The second column is Kirk Ferentz's first 9 seasons at Iowa.
I believe program consistency at the top will eventually lead to consistent above average results.
Also, to the earlier poster who said Indiana isn't receiving NIL money, Mark Cuban and John Mellencamp have kindly asked you to hold their beer.
 


GridironGus said:
5–7 1–10
7–6 3–9
11–2 7–5
3–4 11–2
9–4 10–3
9–4 10–2
6–7 7–5
8–5 6–7
6–5 6–6

64-44 61-49
0.593 0.555

The first column is PJ Fleck's first 9 seasons at Minnesota. The second column is Kirk Ferentz's first 9 seasons at Iowa.
I believe program consistency at the top will eventually lead to consistent above average results.
Also, to the earlier poster who said Indiana isn't receiving NIL money, Mark Cuban and John Mellencamp have kindly asked you to hold their beer.
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Fleck's first nine years, 7 in the B1G West < Ferentz's first 9 years, not in the B1G West.

You're comparing apples and rutabagas. The world has changed since that time.
 

caliGopher said:
Or failing, unlike Mason and Kill, to finish off a weak Michigan team?

But I don't want to mess with a good rant.

Fleck's not getting fired.

He shouldn't be.

But we can stop lionizing him for benefiting from a very weak B1G West and for having teams not prepared to play, regularly over his 9 years here.
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If you’re referring to my comment that the NIL money doesn’t matter, at this point, for the 2025 season. It doesn’t.

The last three years of recruiting for the U of M and Indiana, according to the recruiting rankings, have the overall recruiting between the two basically the same.

So with the money spent the recruited players are theoretically of the same approximate skill set. Doesn’t matter how much Indy threw at their guys or MN threw at their guys, they are the same guys.

Point being is Cignetti must be a very high quality coach. Not calling for a Minnesota change, just trying to make a point.
 

Donovan said:
I think I’m with the majority of people that are fine with P.J. because we fear the odds are the next coach would be worse. If he chose to leave on his own accord, I would be a little disappointed, but wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

On the Gopher Gridiron podcast (highly recommended) I think Ryan and Derek Burns nailed the biggest issue with this team: a failed/bust recruiting class of offensive linemen from a few years ago. I think this has really hamstrung the team along with a disappointing portal class this year. Obviously this shortfall is on the coaching staff, but I don’t expect no glitches. It happens, hopefully not often. I want to see what this upcoming recruiting class can do.

Referencing an earlier post, we need one of us to win the PowerBall and become a sugar daddy for the team.
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Only if I get to be Offensive uncoordinated Coordinator
 

Tech Machine said:
If you’re referring to my comment that the NIL money doesn’t matter, at this point, for the 2025 season. It doesn’t.

The last three years of recruiting for the U of M and Indiana, according to the recruiting rankings, have the overall recruiting between the two basically the same.

So with the money spent the recruited players are theoretically of the same approximate skill set. Doesn’t matter how much Indy threw at their guys or MN threw at their guys, they are the same guys.

Point being is Cignetti must be a very high quality coach. Not calling for a Minnesota change, just trying to make a point.
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Reply wasn't intended off of your post.
 



GridironGus said:
5–7 1–10
7–6 3–9
11–2 7–5
3–4 11–2
9–4 10–3
9–4 10–2
6–7 7–5
8–5 6–7
6–5 6–6

64-44 61-49
0.593 0.555

The first column is PJ Fleck's first 9 seasons at Minnesota. The second column is Kirk Ferentz's first 9 seasons at Iowa.
I believe program consistency at the top will eventually lead to consistent above average results.
Also, to the earlier poster who said Indiana isn't receiving NIL money, Mark Cuban and John Mellencamp have kindly asked you to hold their beer.
Click to expand...
I think our best bet to have a run like Indiana is to stay consistently decent and catch lightening in a bottle. I understand why people would disagree with me and think you need to aggressively make your own luck.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think our best bet to have a run like Indiana is to stay consistently decent and catch lightening in a bottle. I understand why people would disagree with me and think you need to aggressively make your own luck.
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Mo was lightning in a bottle.
 


caliGopher said:
anyone can win with the best talent. Many coaches fail with the best talent - look at the firings this year alone.

Good coaches can get the most out of the players they have and can get. If you look at Wisconsin during their heyday under Alverez, they never had the best talent. None of their recruited and raised QBs went to the NFL and lit it up, yet they managed to win a few B1G titles.

Ohio State was better than Michigan last year, but Michigan beat Ohio State. They're talking about it on Game Day right now. Day coached not to lose last year (A Fleck Special) and lost.

Fleck isn't going anywhere that he doesn't choose to pursue, so the constant fire Fleck or Fleck is the best is a waste of time.

ignore Fleck's ridiculous chart and his inane whining about the criticism the COACHING STAFF deserves for where we are talent wise right now. It is squarely on them. That said, for any program, bad seasons happen - sometimes there are reasons, sometimes it can be completely inexplicable. The issue isn't that we're having a bad season. It's how we've played this year in wins and losses.

You're right, players win games. HOWEVER, coaching staffs are responsible and compensated handsomely for preparing the team to play. You cannot have watched this team this season and not see the deficiencies in preparation.

This team has struggled against teams they should not have struggled with. We're giving up yards in the range of 2x-3x the average of some terrible offenses this year.

The defense that absolutely mauled Nebraska should not have given up 400+ yards to Purdue and Michigan State and 500+ to Northwestern. And yes, we won two of those games.

Nebraska was overrated in a major way, but they are still better than Michigan State, Purdue, and Northwestern.

Wacker's teams were severely lacking in B1G talent, but they showed up and played hard, from the opening kick-off until the end of the game.

I can't see a PJ Fleck team rising up and knocking off an undefeated Wisconsin like Wacker managed to pull off because of the coaching and game philosophy that is PJ's downfall this season. Not that they have missed on talent and don't have the cash to go buy a team ala Texas Tech, Oregon, Ohio State.

PJ's strongest ability as our head sloganeer is his culture. This team, for all the bluster in the preseason, lacks talent, but more importantly, heart—the heart to show up and play for 60 minutes regardless of the opponent on the other side of the ball.

We should win today, but if we don't, the lack of heart on this team and the heart Wisconsin has displayed beating two ranked teams with 1/3 of an offense is the first place to look.
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James Franklin 2025?
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
Yep and the 1 year he stayed healthy, we were two plays away from being 10-2.

I also think it involves more than 1 player.
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I honestly think had he not gotten hurt if he doesn’t win the Heisman, he would have been in NYC as a finalist. He was unbelievable in that first half.
 



Minnesota needs some rich ass alumni, or someone with connections to the area to step up and donate some serious money. If not now, when? Never is the answer.
 



Texan Gopher said:
I'm seeing a lot of people here posting about PJ fleck needing to be replaced or hoping he goes somewhere else. Do you guys remember what we were like before him? I get that he has been good, not great (sans the 1 year). Do you realize how little money we have to play with?

In his time here, here are three stats that hopefully makes sense to everyone. And yes, I wish we could take the next step to become a consistent top 20 team, but we are Minnesota and we are a liberal school that puts little into the football program

P.J. Fleck at Minnesota (2017–2025)

📅 Year-by-Year Record & Bowl Outcomes
- 2017: 5–7 (no bowl)
- 2018: 7–6 → Quick Lane Bowl win (vs. Georgia Tech)
- 2019: 11–2 → Outback Bowl win (vs. Auburn)
- 2020: 3–4 (COVID year, no bowl)
- 2021: 9–4 → Guaranteed Rate Bowl win (vs. West Virginia)
- 2022: 9–4 → Pinstripe Bowl win (vs. Syracuse)
- 2023: 6–7 → Quick Lane Bowl win (vs. Bowling Green)
- 2024: 8–5 → Duke’s Mayo Bowl win (vs. NC State)
- 2025: Season ongoing and we made a bowl game....Again.


Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Results Under P.J. Fleck

| Year | Location | Final Score | Winner |
|------|---------------|-------------|--------|
| 2017 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 31 – Minnesota 0 | Wisconsin |
| 2018 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 37 – Wisconsin 15 | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 38 – Minnesota 17 | Wisconsin |
| 2020 | Madison, WI | Wisconsin 20 – Minnesota 17 (OT) | Wisconsin |
| 2021 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 23 – Wisconsin 13 | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 23 – Wisconsin 16 | Minnesota |
| 2023 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 28 – Minnesota 14 | Wisconsin |
| 2024 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 24 – Wisconsin 7 | Minnesota |


Minnesota vs. Nebraska Results Under P.J. Fleck

| Year | Location | Final Score | Winner |
|------|-----------------|-------------|--------|
| 2017 | Minneapolis, MN | Nebraska 28 – Minnesota 24 | Nebraska |
| 2018 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 34 – Nebraska 31 | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 34 – Nebraska 7 | Minnesota |
| 2020 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 24 – Nebraska 17 | Minnesota |
| 2021 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 30 – Nebraska 23 | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 20 – Nebraska 13 | Minnesota |
| 2023 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 13 – Nebraska 10 | Minnesota |
| 2025 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 24 – Nebraska 6 | Minnesota |


If you would have told me this when I was in junior high, high school, or college or even a few years after college I would have told you this is never going to happen. We couldn't beat Nebraska. We couldn't beat Wisconsin. We were lucky to make a bowl game once every 4 or 5 years.


I am just as frustrated as everybody that we haven't become consistently great, but this is the best decade run we have had in my lifetime. I'm at the point now or it's just time to enjoy it. Row the boat. Ski U Mah. Row the boat! Go beat the f*** out of the badgers tomorrow.
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Good points. He's been a 60% winner, the best since pre WWII Bierman! 60% of 12 games is about 7 mathematically; add a bowl and 60% of 13 games is about 8. Basically, that's his record - better than 13 coaches (including Bierman's 2nd, post-war run). We wanted the other 13 coaches to be 70% winners, but most were around 50% and many well below that. When PJ hits age 50, he may want to look at the pros or another college - a lot depends on what happens to professionalized "amateur' sports, but we should realize 60% in the B10 is not bad.
 
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We had about 20 some at the game today. Great W fun time. The PJ thing is like he’s just not a dude. Some will rip me for this and some will get it. Like it’s freezing out PJ and you’re still out there in no hat and your tie / pullover. WTF. He’s weird. Good W. Great day.
 

Lou Brown said:
We had about 20 some at the game today. Great W fun time. The PJ thing is like he’s just not a dude. Some will rip me for this and some will get it. Like it’s freezing out PJ and you’re still out there in no hat and your tie / pullover. WTF. He’s weird. Good W. Great day.
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But he's OUR wierdo
 

Lou Brown said:
We had about 20 some at the game today. Great W fun time. The PJ thing is like he’s just not a dude. Some will rip me for this and some will get it. Like it’s freezing out PJ and you’re still out there in no hat and your tie / pullover. WTF. He’s weird. Good W. Great day.
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You realize the WI coach had the same outfit. A hoodie to Fleck’s quarter zip.
 



Texan Gopher said:
I'm seeing a lot of people here posting about PJ fleck needing to be replaced or hoping he goes somewhere else. Do you guys remember what we were like before him? I get that he has been good, not great (sans the 1 year). Do you realize how little money we have to play with?

In his time here, here are three stats that hopefully makes sense to everyone. And yes, I wish we could take the next step to become a consistent top 20 team, but we are Minnesota and we are a liberal school that puts little into the football program

P.J. Fleck at Minnesota (2017–2025)

📅 Year-by-Year Record & Bowl Outcomes
- 2017: 5–7 (no bowl)
- 2018: 7–6 → Quick Lane Bowl win (vs. Georgia Tech)
- 2019: 11–2 → Outback Bowl win (vs. Auburn)
- 2020: 3–4 (COVID year, no bowl)
- 2021: 9–4 → Guaranteed Rate Bowl win (vs. West Virginia)
- 2022: 9–4 → Pinstripe Bowl win (vs. Syracuse)
- 2023: 6–7 → Quick Lane Bowl win (vs. Bowling Green)
- 2024: 8–5 → Duke’s Mayo Bowl win (vs. NC State)
- 2025: Season ongoing and we made a bowl game....Again.


Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Results Under P.J. Fleck

| Year | Location | Final Score | Winner |
|------|---------------|-------------|--------|
| 2017 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 31 – Minnesota 0 | Wisconsin |
| 2018 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 37 – Wisconsin 15 | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 38 – Minnesota 17 | Wisconsin |
| 2020 | Madison, WI | Wisconsin 20 – Minnesota 17 (OT) | Wisconsin |
| 2021 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 23 – Wisconsin 13 | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 23 – Wisconsin 16 | Minnesota |
| 2023 | Minneapolis, MN | Wisconsin 28 – Minnesota 14 | Wisconsin |
| 2024 | Madison, WI | Minnesota 24 – Wisconsin 7 | Minnesota |


Minnesota vs. Nebraska Results Under P.J. Fleck

| Year | Location | Final Score | Winner |
|------|-----------------|-------------|--------|
| 2017 | Minneapolis, MN | Nebraska 28 – Minnesota 24 | Nebraska |
| 2018 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 34 – Nebraska 31 | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 34 – Nebraska 7 | Minnesota |
| 2020 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 24 – Nebraska 17 | Minnesota |
| 2021 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 30 – Nebraska 23 | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Lincoln, NE | Minnesota 20 – Nebraska 13 | Minnesota |
| 2023 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 13 – Nebraska 10 | Minnesota |
| 2025 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota 24 – Nebraska 6 | Minnesota |


If you would have told me this when I was in junior high, high school, or college or even a few years after college I would have told you this is never going to happen. We couldn't beat Nebraska. We couldn't beat Wisconsin. We were lucky to make a bowl game once every 4 or 5 years.


I am just as frustrated as everybody that we haven't become consistently great, but this is the best decade run we have had in my lifetime. I'm at the point now or it's just time to enjoy it. Row the boat. Ski U Mah. Row the boat! Go beat the f*** out of the badgers tomorrow.
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I don't expect the Gophers to be consistently great but do i expect them to be more competitive year in and year out. Its easy to cherry pick games and statistics to bolster an argument while ignoring the reality. While I expected to lose to Ohio St. and Oregon I wasn't prepared to be outclassed in that manner. Those games highlighted the huge gap in talent and coaching the Gophers face with those teams. It puts an expectation of making a CFP out of reach at this point which it unexceptable in my opinion.
You conveniently omitted Flecks record versus Iowa which is more of a rival than Nebraska is. This years lose to them was embarrassing especially when you consider the talent gap between Minnesota and Iowa is considerably closer if not on an even level. That game was essentially over in the 1st quarter with Fleck and his team looking completely unprepared.
Im sorry but beating the F%$ out of the Badgers isn't enough in my book.
 

BronkosGhost said:
I don't expect the Gophers to be consistently great but do i expect them to be more competitive year in and year out. Its easy to cherry pick games and statistics to bolster an argument while ignoring the reality. While I expected to lose to Ohio St. and Oregon I wasn't prepared to be outclassed in that manner. Those games highlighted the huge gap in talent and coaching the Gophers face with those teams. It puts an expectation of making a CFP out of reach at this point which it unexceptable in my opinion.
You conveniently omitted Flecks record versus Iowa which is more of a rival than Nebraska is. This years lose to them was embarrassing especially when you consider the talent gap between Minnesota and Iowa is considerably closer if not on an even level. That game was essentially over in the 1st quarter with Fleck and his team looking completely unprepared.
Im sorry but beating the F%$ out of the Badgers isn't enough in my book.
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Ok calm down. In the words of Mike Tice: "Enjoy the season"
 

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