ADVERTISEMENT

Big Ten hot seat rankings per CBS Sports

9-4 last year, covid year, and 11-2 in 2019... with two bowl wins during that time? He's done pretty well in MN, but just as long as he keeps losing to Iowa I'm okay with him.
Fleck strikes me as a guy who will leave Minnesota in a few years. His schtick is wearing on people in Minnesota, including some of his own players. He has the kind of personality that he can sell to a place needing to rejuvenate their program...somebody will buy it.
 
If KF has a losing season this year, there would be a large vocal group stating things like: "He is too old, and the game has passed him by." "He has started a downward trend just like Fry's last few years." "His offensive scheme will not allow the recruitment of QB's and WR's." "Other teams are using his age as a reason for a recruit not to go to Iowa." ETC.
That group is only on message boards, and a minority now. No one in any position of authority or major investment in Iowa football would panic after an unexpectedly bad season. It happens about once a decade.
 
That group is only on message boards, and a minority now. No one in any position of authority or major investment in Iowa football would panic after an unexpectedly bad season. It happens about once a decade.
That minority would turn into a majority pretty quickly if Iowa's offensive woes continue as they have been and are accompanied by a losing season or two. The obvious solution would be to remove Brian which Kirk of course wouldn't consider. In that scenario it's plausible that Brian's ascension to OC ended up being the beginning of the end for Kirk and Iowa football. Hopefully Brian figures it out and it doesn't come to that.
 
That minority would turn into a majority pretty quickly if Iowa's offensive woes continue as they have been and are accompanied by a losing season or two. The obvious solution would be to remove Brian which Kirk of course wouldn't consider. In that scenario it's plausible that Brian's ascension to OC ended up being the beginning of the end for Kirk and Iowa football. Hopefully Brian figures it out and it doesn't come to that.
Yet we went 10-2 just last year. Kirk leaves when Kirk wants to leave.
 
Yet we went 10-2 just last year. Kirk leaves when Kirk wants to leave.
The question was around fanbase here and elsewhere sticking behind Kirk should losses start mounting. The odds of Iowa replicating last year's results with perhaps the worst offense in P5 are pretty slim. Iowa will continue to field elite defenses as long as Phil is on board providing the blueprint for success given an adequate offense. More years like last year won't be adequate to win enough games to satisfy the fans or the administration. I agree that Kirk leaves when he wants to leave. He may choose to leave rather than change leadership on the offensive side of the ball should things fail to improve from an offensive perspective. I'm a Kirk fan. I hope that doesn't happen.
 
Fleck strikes me as a guy who will leave Minnesota in a few years. His schtick is wearing on people in Minnesota, including some of his own players. He has the kind of personality that he can sell to a place needing to rejuvenate their program...somebody will buy it.
People have been saying that about Fleck since he arrived in the Twin Cities. They overlook a lot such as his children living in the Midwest and visitation. They Forget he is a multimillionaire who lives in a lake with For tube 500 CEO’s and has a wife who leans to large, urban areas and that eliminates a number of schools in cities like Iowa City, Champaign, Ames, Norman, Oxford, Clemson, etc, etc. etc. FInally they overlook he is very well liked and lives in a city where NIL is one helluva lot more easily attained than small college towns surrounded by cornfields.
 
People have been saying that about Fleck since he arrived in the Twin Cities. They overlook a lot such as his children living in the Midwest and visitation. They Forget he is a multimillionaire who lives in a lake with For tube 500 CEO’s and has a wife who leans to large, urban areas and that eliminates a number of schools in cities like Iowa City, Champaign, Ames, Norman, Oxford, Clemson, etc, etc. etc. FInally they overlook he is very well liked and lives in a city where NIL is one helluva lot more easily attained than small college towns surrounded by cornfields.
Some people have yes...but now there are a number of ex players calling him out...that's a bit different. He does live on a beautiful lake, in a state that also has brutal winters.

There are a lot more large companies and potential benefactors in the Twin Cities but Gopher football doesn't really move the needle enough to leverage them. And as much as NIL is a hot topic, it's not what's going to build your team or program. Big donors have always been a factor...in whatever form. People aren't throwing money at Gopher football...even with a new mechanism.

He very well may see Minnesota as a long term position, you could do a whole lot worse than a B1G job where's there's not the pressure of a Michigan or tOSU.
 
Last edited:
The seat for Chryst isn’t exactly hot, but this is a really important season for him.
Chryst is more than fine. Take out the COVID season and he's finished 1st or 2nd every year in the West, averaged 10 wins/season and gone 5-1 in bowl games. He's a looong way from even discussing the hot seat. The program would have to crash and burn for 2-3 years in a row.

But I get your point, if they finish out of the TOP 25 that would be 2 years running...something that hasn't happened in 20 years. Still...IMHO...that won't cause any concern in Madison.
 
ADVERTISEMENT