P.J. Fleck seems to have things on a good track at Minnesota, but former Gophers coach Jerry Kill apparently isn’t a big fan of the man he once mentored.
Former Minnesota coach is not a fan of current Minnesota coach.
If not for health issues that eventually forced him to leave the job permanently, Jerry Kill might still be the head football coach at Minnesota instead of P.J. Fleck, who Kill is not a big fan of.
On Sirius XM’s “Big Ten Today” with Matt Schick and A.J. Hawk, Kill went all-in regarding Fleck who Kill believes is more concerned about himself than his players.
https://twitter.com/SXMCollege/status/1098008473655275521
Kill went further, describing a divide between him and Fleck since they were together at Northern Illinois for two seasons last decade.
“He coached with me, but after that, you know, he changed a lot; I’ll just be honest with you guys,”
“People that have known him before — when he got with Schiano … his personality changed a lot,” Kill said. “And I knew his first wife, and he just changed a bunch.”
Fleck became a first-time head coach at Western Michigan in December of 2012, at 32 years old, and he got the job at Minnesota at age 36. His catch-phrases and overall shtick led prominently by “Row The Boat”, aren’t for everybody and someone like Kill would the target demographic for dislike of Fleck’s routine. To that end, Kill said the two spoke soon after Fleck was hired at Minnesota and “it will be the last time.”
Kill has shifted into administrative positions, sandwiched around one season as offensive coordinator at Rutgers, first as an associate athletic director at Kansas State and more recently as interim athletic director and now permanent AD at Southern Illinois.
One of Kill’s long-time assistants, Tracy Claeys, was promoted to replace him as head coach at Minnesota and coached one full season (2016) before being replaced by Fleck who was coming off a 13-1 season at Western Michigan and a Cotton Bowl berth.
Fleck is hardly flawless, and even for those who are optimistic about him, his string of catchphrases can wear thin at times. But after a seven-win season, capped by a bowl game victory and highlighted by a win over Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the first time since 2003 (and in Madison for the first time since 1994), things seem to be on a good track for Minnesota.
Kill may not like Fleck, and he took a public opportunity to air some dirty laundry, but Gophers fans don’t have to share the skepticism.