P.J. Fleck ready to accept challenges at Minnesota
P.J. Fleck rebuild Western Michigan and led them to a berth in the Cotton Bowl, but can the energetic coach do the same in the Big Ten with the Minnesota Golden Gophers?
It only makes sense that the head coach whose motto is “Row the Boat” will move to the state called the “Land of 10000 Lakes”. While he won’t be able to take his motto with him to his new school, ex-Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck is the new head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Despite his only head coaching experience coming in the Mid-American Conference, Fleck got a taste of what life in the Big Ten will be like during his Broncos’ 24-16 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the Cotton Bowl. With sub-par talent, he managed to keep it close in a game that went down to the wire, and after that, signs point to him being a good fit at Minnesota.
One of the younger, more energetic coaches in the country, Fleck, 36, will bring a new vigor to a stale Minnesota program. After taking down Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, the Gophers got their ninth win of the season, hitting that mark for the first time since winning 10 games in 2003. The game was mired in controversy after the Minnesota players threatened a boycott of the game to support their suspended teammates. The players were clearly unhappy with coach Tracy Claeys and the administration, so appointing Fleck to take over should help re-motivate the disgruntled players and get the program back on track.
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In a conference with Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, Mark Dantonio and James Franklin, a coach needs to be elite both on and off the field to compete. Those coaches have some of the best in-game strategies as well as some of the biggest off-field personalities in the game. Fleck has shown the prowess in coaching, bringing Western Michigan from 1-11 in his first season with the program to 13-1 with a MAC Championship and New Year’s Six bowl appearance in his last. But the attitude Fleck possesses could be his biggest asset in his new job. When recruiting against blue bloods Ohio State and Michigan, Fleck is going to have to get creative as he did with his mantra at Western Michigan. Compared to his previous situation, though, Fleck is in as good a position to do it as he could hope for.
Coaching at a school like Minnesota should allow Fleck access to a level of recruits that he didn’t have much of a chance at with Western Michigan. While his boisterous personality helps him connect with recruits better than a lot of head coaches, a school like Western Michigan without much exposure has trouble getting the attention of top recruits.
The opportunity to play against some of the finest teams in the country in the Big Ten will help Fleck’s pitch to top players that he has his eye on. The 36-year-old will be able to build his team as he sees fit, and he’s already flipped eight of his recruits from Western Michigan since accepting the Minnesota job. Fleck’s ability to connect with players will certainly help him recruit those players already at Minnesota as some are threatening to transfer after losing Claeys.
The 2017 class at Western Michigan under Fleck had a few three-star players while the rest were unranked, per ESPN. In the ESPN 300 era (since 2006), the Broncos had not brought in a four-star recruit until Fleck’s time there. Since Fleck took over in 2013, he recruited three of them. Minnesota, however, routinely fills out their classes with three and four-star recruits. If their new head man can bring his recruiting prowess with him during his move, the Gophers could start to see an influx of four-star players and possibly even see the occasional five-star recruit. To contend for Big Ten titles against playoff-caliber teams, Fleck is going to have to start bringing classes of that ilk to Minnesota.
If Fleck can get the types of players he is looking for, he should be able to play competitive games in the Big Ten. While he may not be able to attract the Jabrill Peppers or J.T. Barrett he wants, he should be able to get the big, strong lineman the Big Ten is notorious for. Building around the lines can help less talented teams compete by holding the ball while preventing turnovers, and Fleck already has success playing that type of game.
This season Fleck’s Western Michigan team ranked fifth in average time of possession and first in turnover margin and turnovers committed. In their Cotton Bowl loss to Wisconsin, they didn’t have much success moving the ball and possessed the ball for just 29:55.
They showed promise, however, as their two touchdown drives totaled an astounding 17:45 compared to just 12:10 for their remaining six drives. Additionally, they committed only one turnover against a Wisconsin defense tied for seventh in the nation in turnovers forced. That kind of showing against elite competition is an encouraging sign for a Minnesota team that should be much closer in the talent department than was Western Michigan.
So where can the Golden Gophers set their expectations for this year and beyond? I think a realistic starting point is fourth in the Big Ten West and a bowl game win. That’s exactly how Minnesota finished this season, and it puts them directly in the middle of the pack in the division. Coming off back-to-back bowl wins, the Gopher fan base is going to want to win another. Having bottom feeders Purdue and Illinois in the West with them helps as it would take a disastrous season to fall behind either of them. While they don’t get a date with Rutgers, two of their cross-divisional games are against Maryland and Michigan State, who finished a combined 4-14 in conference this season. Marquee home games against Nebraska and Wisconsin, as well as road matchups with Oregon State and Michigan, will be good measuring points for Fleck in his first year.
Going forward, Fleck’s success at Western Michigan is going to set high expectations for him. Breaking into the upper-echelon of Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebraska at the top of the West will be a hope, if not expectation, for Gopher fans by year three or four of the Fleck era. It’s definitely possible to get the program up to that standard if he can increase the level of recruiting and stick to his style of play like with the Broncos. An appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game by the early 2020s, when Fleck finally has a team full of his own recruits, should not be entirely unexpected. While a turnaround as quick and extreme as the one he pulled at Western Michigan shouldn’t be the standard, the new Minnesota man has certainly set the expectation that he’ll have his new team on the rise soon.
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Minnesota fans should be excited by their new hire–he has a track record of success and has all the tools that a successful head coach should have. While Fleck’s sudden departure from Western Michigan (just days before accepting the Minnesota job, he insisted he would stay in Kalamazoo) may have ruffled some feathers, being at a big school in a top conference should keep him in town for quite a while.
Gophers fans probably don’t have to worry about him bolting a la Tom Herman. The future is bright in the Twin Cities with Fleck at the helm, so now all that’s left to do is wait and see.