FOX 9 KMSP: PJ Fleck to Minnesota - six years $21 million

Submitted by Two Hearted Ale on

KMSP Minneapolis 

Two sources close to the situation say that Fleck has tentatively agreed to a deal tonight that will be in the neighborhood of six years and will pay him $21 million.  Another source says a press conference announcing the decision is expected to be held Friday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium. 

 

MGoBoard

lhglrkwg

January 6th, 2017 at 5:59 AM ^

Seems lke a lot of money for this year's MAC coach extraordinaire, no? I know Fleck is beyond your normal MAC guy but still, how many coaches have come out of the MAC lately that have been successful P5 coaches? Not a very high %

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sadeto

January 6th, 2017 at 10:26 AM ^

With the new deals for first tier tv rights, B1G schools are going to see huge increases in conference revenue in the near future. Estimates for future total distributions per school for all rights now exceed $50M. So the money is there. Now UMN has had trouble making a profit recently, but that should change with the new deal. So why not throw money at him? Success in football is the big variable in whether or not they turn a profit long run, so give him the money while they have it, before spending inevitably catches up.

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Bo4President

January 6th, 2017 at 7:16 AM ^

I love PJ Fleck; but I think this is a mistake over Les Miles.

Les alone would of raised the talent bar in recruiting because of who he is and Les has lots of connections to the south talent got bed.



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Lampuki22

January 6th, 2017 at 9:44 AM ^

If Fleck exceeds expecations, he's gone in 2-3 years. Les probably has 1 stop left. 

To put this in Minnesota terms, this is a lot like them replacing Tubby Smith with Little Ricky Pitino (only Little Ricky didn't have the same type of resume.  I don't recall if Tubby had a scandal at MN or wanted too much money or to retire but I wondered about that hire and it seems they are doing it again. Smith had an immediate effect on recruting and took an 8-22 team to 20-13 in one year and started landing better players.  Littel Ricky hasn't done much (anything) major at MN and they seem to be headed in the wrong direction. 

Some schools don't learn by their own mistakes.  I could be wrong I am not a Gopher and don't follow their program closely but this struck me as the same kind of decision. 

 

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SupremeCourt

January 6th, 2017 at 8:44 AM ^

Obligatory "Kalamazoo is actually a pretty cool place if you take the time to look" post. In all seriousness, it's gotten a lot better in the 10 years since I graduated, lived in Dallas for 2 years, survived Lansing for 6 years and moved back to Kalamazoo 2 years ago.

Sure, it's no Ann Arbor (grew up there) and certainly not a large metropolitan center like Minneapolis, but it has it's charms. I'm not surprised PJ would take the truckload of cash for a modest upgrade in expectations, facilities, etc. but sad to see him go none-the-less.

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Dylan

January 6th, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^

What's the consensus? Did he have to make the jump to this tier before getting anything higher? I consider myself in the "wait it out" camp.  Someone like Arkansas would call soon.

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mgobleu

January 6th, 2017 at 9:16 AM ^

I have relatives who seem to know people that know Fleck, and my impression is that he's going to have a hard time at a personal level, leaving the community and moving on. I think he'd be perfectly happy at western for many years, but he recognizes the opportunity. So, being a Midwest kinda guy, It's a B1G school...the money is obviously a factor, but not the most important one. Minnesota might be as high a profile gig as he's willing to take.

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M-Dog

January 6th, 2017 at 9:45 AM ^

Poor Les.  Can't find a home.

Harbaugh should put him on our staff in some capacity until he does.

Having Les Miles on your sideline is good for the soul.

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UMxWolverines

January 6th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^

Fleck was smart to turn down Purdue. Minnesota is a better job now that they have an on campus stadium. They should at least be able to compete with Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin to win 8 or 9 and pull out a surprise every once and a while too.

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Perkis-Size Me

January 6th, 2017 at 1:29 PM ^

Minnesota made out like bandits here. I was certain they would have to settle for some MAC or FCS guy, especially this late in the cycle. 

Fleck is a little bit of a gamble, but he's potentially just what that program needs: a shot in the arm and some kind of enthusiasm. There has been almost nothing exciting about Minnesota football since WWII. Fleck is a high energy guy and I'm sure he'll be a great recruiter. 

He'll need to have a year or two to really get things in place and remove any of the toxicity within the program, but if his success at WMU translates over to Minnesota, he could have them contending for divisional titles in the next 2-3 years. 

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