Gopher football drama

[UND1981]

Gopher football coach sounds like a good fit for Rocky (Rockhead) Hager!

 

[UNDColorado]

7 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Agreed, I certainly hope he take the scholarship. We can always use more big guys.

Yes, bring on the HOGS!

[Hardcore Hawk]

PJ Fleck has met with Minnesota officials to discuss a future hiring, which is pretty shocking. I would think he's still going to get better offers than Minnesota, but even now, this would be a crazy fortunate signing for Minnesota's program. 

[siouxfan512]

24 minutes ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

PJ Fleck has met with Minnesota officials to discuss a future hiring, which is pretty shocking. I would think he's still going to get better offers than Minnesota, but even now, this would be a crazy fortunate signing for Minnesota's program. 

I'm pretty sure I heard something on the radio that he has an ex-wife who gets a say as to where he lands; so I assume there is some sort of joint custody with kids. Have no confirmation on that, just speculation .... so a school in the upper midwest may be a good landing spot for him from that perspective.

[Siouxperfan7]

15 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

I'm pretty sure I heard something on the radio that he has an ex-wife who gets a say as to where he lands; so I assume there is some sort of joint custody with kids. Have no confirmation on that, just speculation .... so a school in the upper midwest may be a good landing spot for him from that perspective.

I heard that too.  Might also be a reason he doesn't accept an offer as well.

[homer]

36 minutes ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

PJ Fleck has met with Minnesota officials to discuss a future hiring, which is pretty shocking. I would think he's still going to get better offers than Minnesota, but even now, this would be a crazy fortunate signing for Minnesota's program. 

Only way you get a raise at WMU is by showing there is serious interest in your services right now.  The guy can't lose with this as it is likely WMU is calling all boosters to prepare a counter offer.  

[Hardcore Hawk]

6 minutes ago, homer said:

Only way you get a raise at WMU is by showing there is serious interest in your services right now.  The guy can't lose with this as it is likely WMU is calling all boosters to prepare a counter offer.  

Wouldn't Fleck want to go somewhere to win a national championship? I know Minny isn't exactly a powerhouse, but any Big Ten school has a better shot at that than WMU. Even after going 13-0 this year, they only were ranked 12th nationally. Going to a Power 5 school gives Fleck that opportunity to coach for a national title, something the MAC can't offer

[Blackheart]

6 minutes ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

Wouldn't Fleck want to go somewhere to win a national championship? I know Minny isn't exactly a powerhouse, but any Big Ten school (OTHER THAN MINNESOTA) has a better shot at that than WMU. Even after going 13-0 this year, they only were ranked 12th nationally. Going to a Power 5 school gives Fleck that opportunity to coach for a national title, something the MAC can't offer

Fixed your post

[SiouxVolley]

Fleck's current salary is all paid by boosters.  Supposedly, WMU has a couple billionaires that could give him a substantial raise.

WMU is one of the MAC schools with high potential.  Buffalo, NIU, and Toledo are probably the others.  Mich St is pretty far away.  Fleck can get a better job than Minnesota.  He may get a higher salary from WMU and have big buyout, which will help WMU going forward..  Then, when he gets a new job, the new school will be on the hook for a big buyout.  Fleck may just be using Minnesota.

Correction:  Fleck gets a 240k base salary from WMU, but donors pay 70% of his 800k salary.  

[SiouxScore]

1 hour ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

PJ Fleck has met with Minnesota officials to discuss a future hiring, which is pretty shocking. I would think he's still going to get better offers than Minnesota, but even now, this would be a crazy fortunate signing for Minnesota's program. 

Rumor is Coyle has had communication with Flecks agent back to Christmas Eve. I don't have a lot of confidence in any administrative people at Minnesota but you would think they would be smart enough not to fire Claeys unless you have somebody already lined up especially at this time of the year. Sounds like there is a lot of confidence in ending up with either Fleck or Harsin from Boise St which wouldn't be too bad but I would have rather just gave Claeys at least another year. Fleck wants to stay in the Midwest and the Gophers play in the B1G West which is looked at by most as the weaker of the 2 divisions. They also have the new athletes village and one of the regents said on radio yesterday they could end up paying $3-$3.5 million a year for their next coach. Lots of reasons a coach could look to take the Minnesota job if he trusts the administration.

[petey23]

2 hours ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

Wouldn't Fleck want to go somewhere to win a national championship? I know Minny isn't exactly a powerhouse, but any Big Ten school has a better shot at that than WMU. Even after going 13-0 this year, they only were ranked 12th nationally. Going to a Power 5 school gives Fleck that opportunity to coach for a national title, something the MAC can't offer

I don't think being the 7th to 9th best team in the Big 10 is going to get you any shot at the national title....and at best 6th or 7th is what the gopher program ceiling is.

[Hardcore Hawk]

13 minutes ago, petey23 said:

I don't think being the 7th to 9th best team in the Big 10 is going to get you any shot at the national title....and at best 6th or 7th is what the gopher program ceiling is.

WMU won 4 games before hiring Fleck. Four years later they went 13-0 in the regular season. It's all about recruiting guys that fit your program. I get that the Gopher program isn't a typical powerhouse, but with a guy like Fleck, you don't have to be a powerhouse to get guys to play for you. 

[siouxfan512]

8 minutes ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

WMU won 4 games before hiring Fleck. Four years later they went 13-0 in the regular season. It's all about recruiting guys that fit your program. I get that the Gopher program isn't a typical powerhouse, but with a guy like Fleck, you don't have to be a powerhouse to get guys to play for you. 

Gophers had the talent to be a better team than they were this year. This whole recent debacle aside, Claeys just isn't a Big 10 caliber head coach. He got the position as a result of what happened with Kill.

I would like to think a better coach would have beaten Oregon St and Colorado St by more than a TD at home (whatever, a win is a win), Closed out the game by Penn St, Beat Iowa at home (Both games they were in and could have won), even beat Wisconsin considering how they played the first half (Wisco made adjustment, the Gophers did not).

Given the schedule, this probably should have been a 2 loss team. Coaching was part of the problem (not all). Credit where credit is due, Claeys is also responsible for a tough defense that kept some of those games close.

I also don't think Leidner helped the team's case all that much. I know Gopher fans tend to love the kid, but I'm just not a fan. He is big, physical and can run ok, but I'm just not a fan of his arm or his decision making when he passes. I know some of the draft board put him in the first round (at least early this season), I just don't get it. Heck, some people compared him and Wentz, which I think is comparing apples and oranges. I doubt Mitch sniffs anything more than a 3rd string role in the NFL, but I'm no expert. Certainly wish the kid the best, I just haven't been a big fan watching him

[Hardcore Hawk]

3 hours ago, siouxfan512 said:

Gophers had the talent to be a better team than they were this year. This whole recent debacle aside, Claeys just isn't a Big 10 caliber head coach. He got the position as a result of what happened with Kill.

I would like to think a better coach would have beaten Oregon St and Colorado St by more than a TD at home (whatever, a win is a win), Closed out the game by Penn St, Beat Iowa at home (Both games they were in and could have won), even beat Wisconsin considering how they played the first half (Wisco made adjustment, the Gophers did not).

Given the schedule, this probably should have been a 2 loss team. Coaching was part of the problem (not all). Credit where credit is due, Claeys is also responsible for a tough defense that kept some of those games close.

I also don't think Leidner helped the team's case all that much. I know Gopher fans tend to love the kid, but I'm just not a fan. He is big, physical and can run ok, but I'm just not a fan of his arm or his decision making when he passes. I know some of the draft board put him in the first round (at least early this season), I just don't get it. Heck, some people compared him and Wentz, which I think is comparing apples and oranges. I doubt Mitch sniffs anything more than a 3rd string role in the NFL, but I'm no expert. Certainly wish the kid the best, I just haven't been a big fan watching him

I've got to agree. I rarely watch the Gophers play, but whenever I do, it seems the thing that shoots them in the foot more often than not is the coaching and Leidner being unable to lead the team when he is supposed to. Claeys seemed like a forced hire, and I don't think he ever would have been able to take the next step, contending for a Big Ten title 

[Hardcore Hawk]

PJ Fleck can now row the boat on any one of the 10,000 lakes

[petey23]

4 minutes ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

PJ Fleck can now row the boat on any one of the 10,000 lakes

Well. i heard WMU has "Row the Boat" trademarked or copyrighted or whatever.....but with his new salary, maybe PJ can "Christen the Yacht"

[Blackheart]

18 minutes ago, petey23 said:

Well. i heard WMU has "Row the Boat" trademarked or copyrighted or whatever.....but with his new salary, maybe PJ can "Christen the Yacht"

Hey, you scratched my anchor!

[Blackheart]

25 minutes ago, petey23 said:

Well. i heard WMU has "Row the Boat" trademarked or copyrighted or whatever.....but with his new salary, maybe PJ can "Christen the Yacht"

I heard the Gofers were going to trademark, "Stop playing with your dinghy". 

[siouxfan512]

Once Fleck lost a big game to Wisconsin, he was immediately eligible to be a coach for the Gophers.

[Hardcore Hawk]

I'm curious to see if Gopher players still want to leave the program after this hire. It seems like this was the best hire the school could have made. Does that change the mind of some of those players who felt like they were "betrayed" by the administration when they fired Claeys? 

[siouxfan512]

15 minutes ago, Hardcore Hawk said:

I'm curious to see if Gopher players still want to leave the program after this hire. It seems like this was the best hire the school could have made. Does that change the mind of some of those players who felt like they were "betrayed" by the administration when they fired Claeys? 

As is typical with kids (not all kids), they talk big until they actually have to put their money (or in this case, scholarships) where their mouths are. Their may be a few defections, but overall, I'm sure they will be fine. 

Definitely, wish PJ and Gopher football the best. I grew up a big Gopher fans, and while I absolutely cannot despise the hockey team, I do enjoy watching football and basketball (sweet win over NW last night!). Definitely tired of this revolving door of coaches and really tired of the "off the field" antics.

Hope PJ can get this program rolling. Kill and Claeys put together some solid (not great, but solid) season, but I'd like to see this team get to the next level.

[Siouxperfan7]

Some can say the Fleck is unproven, But what he did with WMU in just a few years is pretty impressive.  He is probably one of the best hires for MN football in a long time.

#rowtheboat

[siouxfan512]

2 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Some can say the Fleck is unproven, But what he did with WMU in just a few years is pretty impressive.  He is probably one of the best hires for MN football in a long time.

#rowtheboat

Sounds like he is pretty active in improving gameday experience, and really getting the fans into the game. It'll be interesting to see what he can do at MN. Hopefully he can get it done, and take them to the next level. Having watch the Gopher (or most MN teams over the years) its hard to be overly optimistic, but definitely looking forward to see what he can do. 

[SWSiouxMN]

For Coyle's sake, he better not become Brew 2.0

[siouxfan512]

2 minutes ago, SWSiouxMN said:

For Coyle's sake, he better not become Brew 2.0

He certainly reminds you of Brew with that loud instensity, but he at least comes in with some experience of taking a program from bad to good, so I guess we'll see.