All the hype about PJ Fleck..is he going to Coach ummm Western Michigan next year??? Looks like it.
WMU coach P.J. Fleck confirms to Newschannel 3, CBS News, WWMT, West Michigan he is taking the job at the University of Minnesota.— Kirk Mason (@KirkMasonWWMT) January 6, 2017
FOX 9 has learned through multiple sources that PJ Fleck has a tentative agreement with #Gophers to be the next head coach. 6-yr, $21M range— FOX 9 Sports (@Fox9Sports) January 6, 2017
Can confirm earlier reports that P.J. Fleck & Minnesota are finalizing deal for Fleck to leave Western Michigan for Minnesota— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) January 6, 2017
[Mod Edit: Added relevant reports and retitled.]
[Meta Mod Edit: FTFY Joe ;) ]
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Lots of speculation about him here
Just accepted the job at Minnesota.
Damn, that was quick, I thought Miles was interviewing there?
I was about to congratulate you and encourage you to join TKPC but then I realized you weren't referring to yourself.
If he really just accepted the job at Minnesota, I am a little disappointed in him. He told his players and everybody else he was staying for next year. Not staying until he got the job offer he wanted.
That said, Minnesota is a pretty good step up, they had a decent year and have some good players. If he can continue to produce good results in the B!G, his next step will be a more traditional football powerhouse.
If he had another year even close to this year he would have had a much better P5 job offer.
Not likely, no major program was going to take a chance on a MAC coach like that. He would have to at least go to a Cincinnati-type job first. Minnesota's a step up from that, and a place that's been putting out 8-9 win seasons somewhat regularly, so he could step in and be successful immediately and stay long enoguh to see if Notre Dame, Michigan State, or Indiana open up.
UF hired a guy from Colorado state, Al Golden went from a Temple to Miami, Matt Rhule went from Temple to Baylor. Plenty of schools would have taken a look at him.
You just proved my point, Colorado State and Miami are both huge steps up from the MAC. The Mountain West and AAC or only a hair below the power 5, and are established recruiting grounds for ADs looking to hire an up and coming coach. Fleck just skipped that stage and went straight to mid-tier power 5 when normally he'd have to have success at an AAC school first.
Temple was in the MAC when Golden coached there. And the Moutain West is one team above the average MAC level competition every year, Boise State.
Did not know Temple was in the MAC, good point, though if anything that's a cautionary tale. My point is though that while he may have gotten a chance eventually, the much clearer path is to go through the lower tier jobs first that don't require you to go 13-0 to look impressive. Just look at the last two coaches who got power 5 gigs after running all over the MAC, Dave Doreen scored the NC State job (and hasn't impressed much) while Jerry Kill landed, you guessed it, Minnesota. A mid-tier P5 school is probably the ceiling for a MAC coach, so if the goal really is to take over a major program, there's no point in waiting around in the MAC.
Every coach in the history of the profession says the same thing. If there's even a 1% chance you might come back yo have to say it's 100%, otherwise the team will quit on you and recruiting will be impossible. Sucks for everyone involved, but maybe if reporters stopped asking dumb questions coaches wouldn't have to lie about it.
He's hardly the first nor will he be the last who will say that. IMO this is considerably less slimey than a lot of thos situations. The Minnesota job just opened up a few days ago (after WMU's last game). Before that opened up, I could see how he would be planning to be back at WMU next year as there weren't any other openings and seemed unlikely that something would (a) open up at this point (b) be a job he would have interest in (c) be a job that has interest in him. I don't blame a guy at all for saying he plans to come back and then ultimately leaving. It's how the profession works, and as you point out, this is not a destination for him, it's just the next rung up the ladder.
Don't know what conversations have taken place internally/BTS with his players, coaches and family. They may actually have been prepared or expecting this.
I think I had a stroke reading this title.
Me too. I think that yes, he will coach. Is that all the hype? That wasn't very hypeful.
Kennyhokie, is that you?
Not enough exclamation marks.
Reports are aiming at him going to Minnesota, as of this morning per ESPN and others.
Fleck to Minnesota?
Row the Gopher?!?!?
Wreck Bushwood! (Caddyshack reference)
If had a enough turkey legs to vote I would give you one I hope that is consolation enough.
So does Western Michigan get to keep Row the Boat the same way VCU kept HAVOC?
LOL- I was just going to ask how long it would take Nike to outfit Minnesota with Oars on their Jerseys!! Hopefully Fleck realizes it takes more than slogans and stickers to win in the B1G.
Western Michigan owns the copyright/trademark/whatever, so yes. Fleck's gotta come up with something new.
"Chop the frigging ice"
I'm sure any of these parts from the opening scene of Frozen will work just fine.
I think VCU has actually officially done away with the 'Havoc' brand as of this year
I could have sworn Coach Wade's philosophy was CHAOS, or did I misinterpret that...? I think that's what he was going to refer to his system as since he came from that Shaka Smart coaching tree and the whole HAVOC system.
Yep, that's what he pitched to the fans to start (and what he called it at Chattanooga), never really took hold as a brand. Pretty solid coach even without a catchy slogan though
Q: Which state has the smallest drinks? A: Mini-soda.
Joke's on you, they call it POP.
filthy mid-west lingo.
Better than some places in the south that call all sodas "coke"
...wtf is that about??
Because Coke is based here.
But everything isn't coke!!
But it *is* the superior soda
The others WISH they could be Coke.
Coke > Pepsi > Chipotle
Every copier isn't a xerox, every hot tub isn't a jacuzzi, every personal watercraft isn't a jet ski, here is an entire list of items we call every one by a trademarked one company name for their product.
http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=56667
Yeah, but every copier still prints out a copy of what you put on the glass. Doesn't matter if it says Xerox on the side or not. But if I pick up a Sprite, it ain't tasting like Coke.
So you got a coke, a Sprite one.
Side note: clue is such an underrated movie
If you like Clue, you'll enjoy the hell out of Noises Off. Michael Cain, Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeves all deliver hilarious performances.
seriously lol'ed at this
Except Cheerwine, which is so awesome, it stands alone outside of the, "I'll have a coke." "What flavor, hun?" Southern lexicon.
Fud....please!
Ask and you shall receive...
Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Gopher.
Gopher who!
Gopher broke!
ok, let's see how long we can keep this going.
Another one.
Q: Why don't guys from Minnesota like girls from Minnesota going out with guys from Wisconsin?
A: Have you ever seen a gopher hole when a badger gets throught with it?
I was glad UVA didn't hire him last year. The guy is a helluva coach!
Minn isn't a bad landing spot for him. Rebuilding program that can come back to the national stage. They'll give him time. If he becomes a power in the big-10 he'll be set there for awhile. Much better IMO than him going to, say, a Texas or ND type job. He needs his methods to grow roots in the new place for awhile before he'll see success and big name schools don't want / have that.
Minnesota doesn't really need to be rebuilt unless all the players get kicked off the team. The coach was fired after an 8-4 season because he was an idiot at tweeting.
I didn't think that was a standard for dismissal in 2017?
He supposedly wrote a tweet supporting the students that were involved in a gang $%5# activity with a woman that was too drunk to consent. The police didn't prosecute but the school suspended them. That was what the potential boycott of the bowl was around.
I think he said this after the players threatened boycott:
The news blurb yesterday made it sound like he had written another more recently. But I freely admit I don't tweet, which is I said supposedly. Thanks for looking things up.
Rebuild might've been too strong a word I chose, but certainly they ain't a power yet.
Back to the national stage? When were they on it??
Since 1995: Minn. has six 8+ win seasons (half of which were in the last 4 yrs), have only finished ranked in season-ending top 25 twice (#18 in '99 and #20 in '03), and have averaged 5.8 wins over that span.
Also of note, the last time they finished in the top 3 in the Big 10 was 1976 and their last conf. championship was 1960.
Folks, historically, Minnesota is a worse job than loluva. I fully expect Fleck to succeed here based on his philosophies and I really hope he does, but he could have done a lot better than Minnesota.
Hahaha, yes. I know it may appear puzzling, but statistically, UVA has a slim edge...
Since 1995 (it gets worse for UM as history goes further back, but not by much):
UVA: 133 wins, 6.08 avg wins. 4 head coaches, 7 seasons of 8+ wins (9 was max set in '95, '98, '02, and '07, three 8 win seasons) and only two seasons with only 4 wins, one 3-win season, and two 2-win seasons. 11 bowls with 4-7 record. 4 post season top 25s ('95, '98, '02, '04)
MINN: 128 wins, 5.88 avg., 7 head coaches (counting Fleck), 6 seasons of 8+ wins, (10 was max in '03) and 3 of those seasons have been in the last 4 years. Four 4-win seasons, three 3-win season, and one 1-win season. 14 bowls with 5-9 record. 2 post season top 25s.
Minn's only edge is in bowl appearances.
They are both mediocre, middle to bottom of the conference teams, but when placed head to head, (take off the O&M glasses) where would you rather coach? At the moment, I agree the answer is Minnesota based on the performance over the last 4 seasons.
But my point was to find an ACC equivalent as to the type of program Minn. is (from a statistical standpoint) and, IMO, UVA appears to match them pretty well. Minnesota has been not good for a very long, long, long time. I think everyone here tends to not give UVA the benefit of the doubt, (for obvious reasons), but going H2H with Minn., overall, UVA is a better program.
You're really going to double down on that?
As far as coaching, UVa just went from Time Cop to a horse.
To add, the horse has no treadmill. Crucial distinction there.
Agreed. Minnesota is a P5 in position to always at least be competitive, but the coach should also have a pretty long leash given the lack of real football history.
I don't think Minnesota is as good as VT necessarily but from a certain perspective the job has a similar perk in that it could be an opportunity to build your own program if you plan to stick around for the long haul.
Mods - can you update the title of this thread? (Right now it's titled "REPORTS: PJ FLECK TO WESTERN MICHIGAN" .... should be "REPORTS: PJ FLECK TO MINNESOTA")
Did a double take at the title
Off to Minnesota he is. I'm low-key kind of disappointed with this move. It's a step up, for sure, but i just feel like he could've landed somewhere big time.
Oh, well. He's inheriting a talented group of guys, so at least he has something to work with going in.
ok, now I'm confused. Title is
but he's already at Western Michigan, right? So why are all the reports about him going to Minnesota?
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2017/1/6/14189632/please-fatten-...
Now that's a
hotcold take.Take notes P.J.
I regret I only have one leg to give to this post. RIP Jerry Kill (yeah I know He isn't dead)
The best part is that's not Kill, the entire coaching staff looks like one person.
Not even a coach. That's how the entire state looks
That's actually a random technician, not Kill. But I assume he fully supported this sideline ice cream policy.
Awesome!
...game changer
I'm betting PJ Fleck is a huge fan of global warming right about now, then.
Minnesota can be as good as any of upper midwest schools. Excellent academics, location and facilities. Looks like they are paying Fu $, double what Claeys made.
Minnesota is my second favorite football team. This is how I feel now
I've seen reports that Fleck was dedicated to staying in the Midwest/B1G area, both for personal reasons and recruiting (almost all his WMU players come from the region). If that's the case, he might consider Minnesota a fairly ideal destination rather than a decent stepping stone, given that he wasn't going to get Ohio State or Michigan. Doesn't mean he wouldn't ever take a higher profile job, but I don't think that similar schools in other parts of the country were really in contention.
I guess he didn't want to hold out for ND?
Relevant?