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P.J. Fleck is "elite"

Right now, the deck is stacked against Fleck.
1) Minnesota has the scandal fallout. The incident and then the suspension of players for bowl who were determined innocent.
2)Talent in Minnesota has been down for awhile. Look at recruits from state and Iowa is producing more/better talent. 3 2018 players from Iowa ranked above top MN player.
3) Minnesota is clearly 5th or worse in BT West and behind atleast 4 teams from East.
4) His first year record is going to be a struggle with his roster losing QB and new scheme. Last 5 recruiting classes have a total of 3 4* players and highest rank of 51. Makes Iowa's talent look great in comparison.

The one caveat is they have an easy 2018 schedule with no OSU or PSU.
 
He will be successful at Minnesota. We will see them win a BIG West title or two under him within 5-6 years. I don't guarantee much, but I'm guaranteeing this. I've met the guy and I'm telling you, you cannot walk away unimpressed after meeting him. There is a deeply personal story behind his persona and what we see is his reaction to it. We scoff at these things. Recruits won't. They'll have a good class next year. Two years out? Watch out. His style works at places that are underperforming. It won't work at a blue blood school unless he finds one that has fallen from grace, so a place like Minnesota is perfect for him. This could very well be a destination job for him unless he goes someplace that used to be "elite" and hasn't been for a while - like a Georgia Tech, Colorado, Nebraska, or Notre Dame.

He is human, though, so he has all of the same flaws and desires that we have. But I'm telling you, he is absolutely sincere and has substance behind all of it. Just watch.
 
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ichawk24 said:
If you are going to reference MSU, I would think Dantonio would come to mind. He has them somewhat close to an elite level, and he hasn't left.

Once you get the ball rolling, its hard to leave to rebuild somewhere else.
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If Fleck has winning seasons at Minny, I can't see him leaving to REBUILD another program either.
If he is successful it will be hard to stay at Minny when the USC's, UCLA's, LSU's, ND's , the Florida schools etc, etc., start calling tho.
 
GPRHAWK said:
I think it might be real enthusiasm, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.
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Fair,
and that type of coaching only resonates with a certain type of player. I know when I was playing in high school and college those were the kind of coaches who were hard to take seriously for a lot of guys.
 
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ichawk24 said:
If you are going to reference MSU, I would think Dantonio would come to mind. He has them somewhat close to an elite level, and he hasn't left.

Once you get the ball rolling, its hard to leave to rebuild somewhere else.
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Dantonio is different Cat thou. Just seems like Fleck at the stage In his career that he would listen just like Saban did once he Turned MSU around to the "Big Boys" i think Fleck would think he still would be climbing the ladder of success.. If he has Success at Minny, based on the type of person he is, he will leave Minnesota for a traditionally "Elite" program..
 
Fleck is a different cat. He refused to interview for job openings until after WMU's bowl game, a period where 90% of P5 jobs are filled. Most cats would have jumped at an interview before their bowl game to capitalize on their success, while he followed through to complete his team's season.
 
ichawk24 said:
Fleck is a different cat. He refused to interview for job openings until after WMU's bowl game, a period where 90% of P5 jobs are filled. Most cats would have jumped at an interview before their bowl game to capitalize on their success, while he followed through to complete his team's season.
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That was the right thing to do in my book.. but he still left. I don't think he's the type to bail on program before seasons end.
 
Stormn Norman said:
Dantonio is different Cat thou. Just seems like Fleck at the stage In his career that he would listen just like Saban did once he Turned MSU around to the "Big Boys" i think Fleck would think he still would be climbing the ladder of success.. If he has Success at Minny, based on the type of person he is, he will leave Minnesota for a traditionally "Elite" program..
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But only one that has fallen. He needs a place that has a chip on its shoulder. His style would never work at 'Bama or LSU. It has to be a place that feels like the underdog.
 
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Curt Furence said:
Fair,
and that type of coaching only resonates with a certain type of player. I know when I was playing in high school and college those were the kind of coaches who were hard to take seriously for a lot of guys.
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Our coach in high school was a legendary coach. He just prepared you to succeed and didn't need any gimmicks or big speeches to get you fired up. He was a coach you just didn't want to let down. He was the exact opposite of Fleck and probably why I'm not a fan of coaches like Fleck.
 
GPRHAWK said:
Our coach in high school was a legendary coach. He just prepared you to succeed and didn't need any gimmicks or big speeches to get you fired up. He was a coach you just didn't want to let down. He was the exact opposite of Fleck and probably why I'm not a fan of coaches like Fleck.
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1. How old are you?

2. The way you talk about your coach seems to be the way that all of Fleck's players talk about him. Is it possible to have the same message and get the same buy in but deliver it in very different ways?
 
Anymore in college football with some of the new hires I maybe a bit more of a skeptic and wait to actually see the success. In past 5 years if you read about all the new hires 75% are glowing reviews talking about how its a great hire and will succeed.

Granted I think what Fleck did at WMU was a great job but he is literally going to a new league. I think it is a lot more easier to turn around a MAC school where their are no traditional elite teams and where recruiting it is easily to go from the bottom to the top in the MAC and generally just more parity in the conference. In power 5 conferences it's a different ball game. We will hear all the hype and positive things from Fleck and Minny for next 6+ months till season starts but then reality will set in and see how the goofers fans feel after a season. Basically we've seen and heard the scenario play out multiple times to the school west of iowa city with great drinking water that has fallen flat time and again. Heck last year everything you read about Fleck now could almost apply to Campbell.
 
iahawkeyes17 said:
Anymore in college football with some of the new hires I maybe a bit more of a skeptic and wait to actually see the success. In past 5 years if you read about all the new hires 75% are glowing reviews talking about how its a great hire and will succeed.

Granted I think what Fleck did at WMU was a great job but he is literally going to a new league. I think it is a lot more easier to turn around a MAC school where their are no traditional elite teams and where recruiting it is easily to go from the bottom to the top in the MAC and generally just more parity in the conference. In power 5 conferences it's a different ball game. We will hear all the hype and positive things from Fleck and Minny for next 6+ months till season starts but then reality will set in and see how the goofers fans feel after a season. Basically we've seen and heard the scenario play out multiple times to the school west of iowa city with great drinking water that has fallen flat time and again. Heck last year everything you read about Fleck now could almost apply to Campbell.
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I really don't think the first season should mean it was a good or bad hire. Or that Fleck will or won't be successful based on what happens 6+ months from now. Was Kirk a bad hire because he wasn't successful his first season?
 
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Gopher Rube said:
I really don't think the first season should mean it was a good or bad hire. Or that Fleck will or won't be successful based on what happens 6+ months from now. Was Kirk a bad hire because he wasn't successful his first season?
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No, but all situations are different. Ferentz replaced Hayden coming off of a 3-8 season and was basically starting over. He improved every year after year 1 and had a top 10 finish in year 4.
Fleck is coming to a team that finished 9-4 and had potential to be even better than that and "high expectations." He is coming into a "good situation" in terms of football. Not necessarily all the outside sh*t Minnesota has going on with the program.

I think with Fleck it would be bad if they just completely nose dived. They need to change the culture there, imo, which Fleck should do, but that doesn't have to come at the expense of wins.
 
Gopher Rube said:
I really don't think the first season should mean it was a good or bad hire. Or that Fleck will or won't be successful based on what happens 6+ months from now. Was Kirk a bad hire because he wasn't successful his first season?
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No what I was partially implying for Fleck or any other new coach in his situation we are going to hear a lot of great stuff before his first game. But after the season unless he exceeds expectations he may lose a little luster. As Iowa fans we have seen this time and time again with clone fans and their new coaches.
 
iahawkeyes17 said:
No what I was partially implying for Fleck or any other new coach in his situation we are going to hear a lot of great stuff before his first game. But after the season unless he exceeds expectations he may lose a little luster. As Iowa fans we have seen this time and time again with clone fans and their new coaches.
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Short of him winning the B10 west, I think almost every coach could/would lose a little luster but I get your point. The Twin Cities media can be very tough on coaches here. Will be interesting to see how that all goes and how he reacts to it. Every Gopher football coach I can remember has ended on very contentious terms with the media during their coaching days, including Kill and Claeys.

He has not one QB on the roster that has any experience to speak of. He brought back a walk-on QB who was going to transfer to a lower level as he started the game against Maryland last year and he's probably the leading candidate to start. Certainly the cupboard isn't bare by any stretch but there are some large holes as well.
 
Curt Furence said:
No, but all situations are different. Ferentz replaced Hayden coming off of a 3-8 season and was basically starting over. He improved every year after year 1 and had a top 10 finish in year 4.
Fleck is coming to a team that finished 9-4 and had potential to be even better than that and "high expectations." He is coming into a "good situation" in terms of football. Not necessarily all the outside sh*t Minnesota has going on with the program.

I think with Fleck it would be bad if they just completely nose dived. They need to change the culture there, imo, which Fleck should do, but that doesn't have to come at the expense of wins.
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Yes, if they completely nose dived it would be bad, I agree. They do have some big holes and shoes to fill though. It'll be interesting to watch it develop.
 
Gopher Rube said:
1. How old are you?

2. The way you talk about your coach seems to be the way that all of Fleck's players talk about him. Is it possible to have the same message and get the same buy in but deliver it in very different ways?
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Absolutley it's possible and I'm guessing many millennials relate to Fleck's approach. I am gen X and because of my experiences I just prefer coaches that are successful without all the rah rah stuff. That's just me. There are successful coaches like Fleck (Dabo Swinney) and still some old school coaches left like Saban and Ferentz. Bottom line is if you win, the kids and fans will will buy in, however you do it. If we had a coach like Fleck and we won, I'm sure I wouldn't be annoyed by him. Times change. Coaching styles change. I think there will certainly be more coaches like Fleck and Swinney and fewer and fewer like Saban and Ferentz which is fine. There will never again be a Bobby Knight or Woody Hayes type coach which is fine too.
 
Fleck has Minny right where he wants them.. They really have no where else to go but up at this amidst all that went on up there.. If they are in bad shape up there in 3 years I'll be surprised..
 
Stormn Norman said:
Fleck has Minny right where he wants them.. They really have no where else to go but up at this amidst all that went on up there.. If they are in bad shape up there in 3 years I'll be surprised..
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They have nowhere to go but up from 9-4?

I'm a Gopher fan. I've seen A LOT farther down than where the program was last year, even including the debacle with the lead up to the bowl game etc.
 
Gopher Rube said:
They have nowhere to go but up from 9-4?

I'm a Gopher fan. I've seen A LOT farther down than where the program was last year, even including the debacle with the lead up to the bowl game etc.
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Correct gopher fan. I think it's easy for a non-MN fan to forget that Minny had a decent record last year, since the few games I watched them (including the rather boring Iowa game), the gophers didn't wow me with their talent level.
 
One thing for sure, he will not play the boring brand of football Iowa plays. I would be concerned ... I give PJ two years until he will be battling it out with Wisconsin and Nebraska. Pin this post ..... and lets check back in 2018.
 
Gopher Rube said:
Short of him winning the B10 west, I think almost every coach could/would lose a little luster but I get your point. The Twin Cities media can be very tough on coaches here. Will be interesting to see how that all goes and how he reacts to it. Every Gopher football coach I can remember has ended on very contentious terms with the media during their coaching days, including Kill and Claeys.

He has not one QB on the roster that has any experience to speak of. He brought back a walk-on QB who was going to transfer to a lower level as he started the game against Maryland last year and he's probably the leading candidate to start. Certainly the cupboard isn't bare by any stretch but there are some large holes as well.
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Typical self hating leftist media wears on most people with an IQ over 60
 
KyleFields said:
One thing for sure, he will not play the boring brand of football Iowa plays. I would be concerned ... I give PJ two years until he will be battling it out with Wisconsin and Nebraska. Pin this post ..... and lets check back in 2018.
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I figured out why Michigan is Iowa's bitch, they bore them to sleep during the games and just like a roofy victim they wake up the next day asking what happened. Thanks Kyle , mystery solved.
 
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KyleFields said:
One thing for sure, he will not play the boring brand of football Iowa plays. I would be concerned ... I give PJ two years until he will be battling it out with Wisconsin and Nebraska. Pin this post ..... and lets check back in 2018.
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Will do. Check back in 18 months right around in time for your 12th birthday. You do realize Iowa and Michigan offensive philosophies are pretty similar. I know you'd like to forget the Iowa Michigan game but rewatch it both teams trying to do the same thing on offense genius.
 
KyleFields said:
One thing for sure, he will not play the boring brand of football Iowa plays. I would be concerned ... I give PJ two years until he will be battling it out with Wisconsin and Nebraska. Pin this post ..... and lets check back in 2018.
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LOL! It's funny your so worried about how Iowa fares against the gophers, when your boys can't figure out how to beat Iowa..........
 
iahawkeyes17 said:
Will do. Check back in 18 months right around in time for your 12th birthday. You do realize Iowa and Michigan offensive philosophies are pretty similar. I know you'd like to forget the Iowa Michigan game but rewatch it both teams trying to do the same thing on offense genius.
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LMFAOOOOO ... now ^^^^ that was funny.
 
KyleFields said:
LMFAOOOOO ... now ^^^^ that was funny.
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You truly show your lack of football knowledge by not being able to see the similarities. I'll give Michigan credit their offense was more balance and had a better passing attack. But again go watch the Iowa Michigan game please tell me how their basic offensive identities are different? I mean your own coach said a plus to bringing in Rudock as 5th year grad transfer is that Iowa and Michigan do a lot of the same things on offense. Explain that one to me Kylie?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...t-qb-for-jim-harbaughs-first-year-at-michigan

While identifying those attributes Harbaugh was referencing may not be possible without having followed Iowa closely over the past two seasons, a closer examination of Rudock shows a quarterback who should make for a natural fit in the new Michigan coach's pro-style system
 
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KyleFields said:
LMFAOOOOO ... now ^^^^ that was funny.
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iahawkeyes17 said:
You truly show your lack of football knowledge by not being able to see the similarities. I'll give Michigan credit their offense was more balance and had a better passing attack. But again go watch the Iowa Michigan game please tell me how their basic offensive identities are different. I mean your own coach said a plus to bringing in Rudock as 5th year grad transfer is that Iowa and Michigan do a lot of the same things on offense. Explain that one to me Kylie?[/QUOTE
KyleFields said:
LMFAOOOOO ... now ^^^^ that was funny.
Click to expand...
Kyle You really should find teams board to troll , one whose team hasn't won 5 of the last 6 against your mighty Michigan nasal miners .
Click to expand...
 
iahawkeyes17 said:
You truly show your lack of football knowledge by not being able to see the similarities. I'll give Michigan credit their offense was more balance and had a better passing attack. But again go watch the Iowa Michigan game please tell me how their basic offensive identities are different? I mean your own coach said a plus to bringing in Rudock as 5th year grad transfer is that Iowa and Michigan do a lot of the same things on offense. Explain that one to me Kylie?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...t-qb-for-jim-harbaughs-first-year-at-michigan

While identifying those attributes Harbaugh was referencing may not be possible without having followed Iowa closely over the past two seasons, a closer examination of Rudock shows a quarterback who should make for a natural fit in the new Michigan coach's pro-style system
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"Coach speak" .... o_O
 
Bjornjarnleggr said:
Well Kyle Iowa and Michigan do have one thing in common , cant beat Ohio State . Don't like it but I can admit the facts, how about Yourself?
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The problem for Kyle and his boys in blue is they'll be firing Harbough if he doesn't figure out that riddle........
 
KyleFields said:
One thing for sure, he will not play the boring brand of football Iowa plays. I would be concerned ... I give PJ two years until he will be battling it out with Wisconsin and Nebraska. Pin this post ..... and lets check back in 2018.
Click to expand...
That's interesting since he runs a zone blocking scheme in the run game and is pretty much recruiting the exact same players as Iowa. And we don't know what Iowa's passing game will be since they have new offensive coaches.
 
MepoDawg# said:
That's interesting since he runs a zone blocking scheme in the run game and is pretty much recruiting the exact same players as Iowa. And we don't know what Iowa's passing game will be since they have new offensive coaches.
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Yea, but he's "ELITE", so they'll be better than Iowa! Jeeessss.........
 
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