LV Sports Bettor

August 15th, 2016 at 6:44 PM ^

and was (still may be) the youngest head coach in CFB. Seen videos in past of him doing back flips and taking players on one on one in WR drills and beating them too. Probably the most athletic CFB head coach in all of the FBS currently.

My nephew plays at WMU and seen Fleck pulling this type stuff a lot the last few years. Big into social media and video taping everything to promote WMU team. Lots of stuff online where he takes the team on some team building things in years past, pretty cool.

Seems to be working also as he's posted the back to back the two best recruiting classes EVER IN MAC HISTORY and his current 2017 class in on pace to beat those two also.

Be interesting to see what happens this year as they open up at Northwestern and I really expect the Broncos to pull it off as they return lots and big time QB. Should be fun year either way. 

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Njia

August 15th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^

As Brian always says, football coaches are all more than a little insane. But the message of perseverance is almost always the same: dig down, find the strength within in you that you didn't think you had, and bring it to the fight on every play.

That's good advice for all of us.

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BlueinTC

August 15th, 2016 at 12:30 PM ^

coach Fleck is probably not going to admit it but he probably had to go home and ice his shoulder after getting hit.  35 is young but old enough to hurt after a hit like that.

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MotownGoBlue

August 15th, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^

I wonder how much longer he'll stay at WMU. He'd be another great addition to the Big Ten but I don't know how attractive that Purdue job will be once it opens up. Or if that nice guy in Lincoln can't get it done and they pass on Frost again... Big 12 maybe?

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A2YpsiBlue

August 15th, 2016 at 12:36 PM ^

It is great to see coaches giving time & attention to players who aren't the top recruits or the biggest stars.  I'm sure it adds a lot to the team atmosphere & I hope he continues to be quite successful.

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FatGuyTouchdown

August 15th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

During my Junior year of High School, one of my teammates on the Offensive Line was getting recruited by Western Michigan. I believe Fleck was just named head coach, but he came to my high school to watch my teammate lift and run. While watching him, he saw me lifting in a Michigan shirt and decided to give me shit because he used to coach at Ohio State. He's an all around amazing guy, and spent 20-ish minutes talking to an average Division III recruit during a scouting trip. 

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LV Sports Bettor

August 15th, 2016 at 6:48 PM ^

Hell his team now is better than Boilermakers and will continue to be as long as he stays at WMU with top talent they have.

He will leave for big time job one day obviously but before that I expect him to build WMU to a powerhouse. Be shocked if he didn't get a job of top 30-ish team very soon.

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skurnie

August 15th, 2016 at 1:40 PM ^

I've given him some stick for the whole Row The Boat thing, but he's a good coach who is a newsmaker. I think they'll have a better season this year after back to back 8-5 seasons.

Last year they played MSU at home (lost a close one) and OSU on the road. This year they have NW and Illinois on the road--I think they might beat Illinois. 

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LV Sports Bettor

August 15th, 2016 at 6:53 PM ^

as GS had been badly embarrassed in a 44-0 shutout in season opener as they were also missing their starting qb in that game also. QB came back for WMU game as WMU traveled down there to play them the week after arguably one of the biggest home games in WMU football history against MSU Spartas.

Bet anything the WMU staff and players can't wait for their revenge shot at home this year against Georgia Southern after that awful showing last season.

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Michigan4Life

August 15th, 2016 at 11:45 PM ^

lost to WVU at WVU without their starting QB due to a suspension which is understandable.

GSU have a new coach but I'm not sure what kind of system he runs because Frtiz left for a Tulane coaching job(not sure if that's an upgrade).  They ran a triple option from the spread and have quality players in the backfield.  I expect GSU to play both QBs with Favian Upshaw coming in as a change up QB with his 4.3 speed.

GSU is a really good team and has a shot of winning Sun Belt (Applachian State and GSU are the favorite to win this one and both are bitter rivals). Should be a good game.

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The Mad Hatter

August 15th, 2016 at 1:57 PM ^

But can someone explain all the love PJ gets on this board?  I get that he's a good coach and all, but he seems to have zero connections to Michigan, and more than a few to programs we're not exactly fond of (OSU and Rutgers).

Are people just happy that WMU has a good coach now?

I don't really have an opinion on the guy one way or another, but I did think that pulling all of those scholarship offers when he was hired was a dick move.

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Pepto Bismol

August 15th, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^

So much hype.  And like you said, totally from the wrong side of the tracks here.

I expect he has built a mid-major progam into a conference power?  No?  Western is still average?  And under .500 in his tenure? 

Well then surely his previous stop included an impressive string of double-digit win seaons, right?  No?  Western is his first head coaching job?  He's never even been a coordinator anywhere else?

Oh.

Okay.

And how is he too good for Purdue?

 

Whatever.  Keep rowing, I guess. 

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Qmatic

August 15th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^

He inherited a terrible team when he got there. Least talented team in FBS. Since then he's taken them to back to back bowl games, and has had the highest ranked MAC recruiting class in history; 3 years running.

ROW



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Pepto Bismol

August 15th, 2016 at 2:54 PM ^

I'm not going to argue about f***ing Western.  But I can name about 10 programs that had worse talent than Western.  One in the shadow of Ann Arbor. 

 

James Franklin is a good recruiter.  Is that all it takes?  Because that's what Fleck feels like to me - James Franklin Lite.

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Pepto Bismol

August 15th, 2016 at 3:10 PM ^

Bottom line - I don't care whether PJ Fleck is considered a "good coach".  Build him a statue.  It's irrelevant.  The point I was agreeing with is I don't understand why MGoBlog is so defensive of this guy and will pump him up at every opportunity.

I would say the responses to Hatter and my posts are perfect illustrations.

Go Fleck!

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uncle leo

August 15th, 2016 at 3:31 PM ^

f****** Western. 

And I absolutely struggle to see any valid comparison between James Franklin and PJ Fleck.

PJ Fleck isn't known as a good recruiter. He's known for being a passionate coach that gets the most out of his team, and is a good recruiter to boot.

James Franklin is a snoozer and you can see that passion reflected in the lifeless play of his team. He also took arguably one of the more talented QBs in PSU history and turned him into a punching bag. Meanwhile, Fleck turned Terrell from a pretty average QB into a darn good one in two years.

Good comparison. You are out of your league with this one, and admitted as such by saying you aren't going to be arguging about Western football. 

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Pepto Bismol

August 15th, 2016 at 3:58 PM ^

James Franklin's first head coaching gig at Vanderbilt had him go 6-7, 9-4, 9-4 with two bowl wins and three bowl appearances... IN THE SEC.

Fleck has gone 1-10, 8-5, 8-5 with one bowl win... in the MAC. 

(Hey, while we're here, when he went 1-10 in 2013 would you say that was him "getting the most out of his team"?  Fun side game - Find another decent head coach who had a 1-win season...anywhere...ever.)

I acknowledge that I'm out of my league.  Keep going though. 

 

 

 

(Pssst!  Quick hint - You're proving the entire point every time you post.  Why are you so adamantly defending PJ Fleck?  Honestly, who cares?)

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uncle leo

August 15th, 2016 at 4:19 PM ^

Your argument falls apart even further when using his Vandy track record. I was comparing his time at Penn State vs Fleck. This is Fleck's FIRST job, compared to Franklin's second. 

Oh, you mean that 9-4 where Vandy didn't beat a single ranked team in the incredibly soft half of the SEC? Or the second 9-4, where he against didn't beat a single ranked team?

And the he leaves, and actually makes Penn State look worse on the field. Bill O'Brien had that team on a large upward trajectory, in fact setting up Franklin after one of the biggest scandals that absolutely GUTTED them. 

PJ Fleck is going to be at a major school in 3-5 years because his star is rising that face. Franklin is on one of the hottest seats in America.

Good comparison.

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FolkstyleCoach

August 15th, 2016 at 4:22 PM ^

You really are, do you know anything about how the roster looked before he came? The style of the previous coach vs. Fleck? The recruiting classes before him that he was forced to play because that's all he has had? What the facilities were like before him? Do you know what the culture of the team and the town was before him and what he has done to change it (besides rowing a freaking boat, although the meaning behind that is a good one)?He has been winning with players other than his own, wait until he gets a full recruiting cycle of his own before you insult his 8-5 records in the MAC. And you know, conference talent is relative, so SEC my ass.

I am not just a fan of his, I ate lunch with him once and got to talk to him with my dad for 2 hours. I got to ask him all sorts of stuff. So yes, you are out of your league, it's ok to admit when that happens, unless of course you have self confidence issues. Row the boat!



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lmgoblue1

August 15th, 2016 at 8:33 PM ^

Well done. Lack of logic yet you get good decent people upset. They'll soon learn to ignore you. Get back under the bridge now. Go Broncos!

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