Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State football: 6 head coaching hires who’d make the fanbase revolt

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 1, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck (yellow tie) walks on the field after defeating the Auburn Tigers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck (yellow tie) walks on the field after defeating the Auburn Tigers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Sep 23, 2023; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck on the field before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2023; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck on the field before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /

I get the draw of PJ Fleck. He’s a young, energetic head coach who turned Western Michigan into a powerhouse in the MAC for a couple of years before leaving and taking the job at Minnesota. He was one of the biggest names in college football before taking the Minnesota job and everyone assumed he’d turn the Gophers into perennial Big Ten West favorites.

That hasn’t quite happened.

While Minnesota is winning anywhere from 7-9 games every year, it seems, the Gophers just always seem to be falling short of the conference title game. They tied for first in the West back in 2019 but didn’t make the Big Ten Championship because of tiebreakers. So he has never coached in a Big Ten title game despite being in the far weaker division.

Not a great look.

Plus, he hasn’t recruited at a high level at Minnesota. He gets decent classes that help him contend in the Big Ten West, but with Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA coming to the conference, he’s going to have a really tough time competing with the talent he has.

Fleck is an above average head coach, but he has been in a weaker division and still hasn’t shown the ability to compete at the highest level. No thanks.

Home/Spartans Football