Shama: Early Critics Don’t Bother P.J. Fleck

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Shama:

P.J. Fleck knows there are a lot of supportive Gophers football fans. Some talk to the new Gophers coach about getting Minnesota to the Rose Bowl before they die. Other fans buy “Row the Boat” t-shirts, or give him paddles to show they’re behind a program that has little to brag about since Minnesota’s last Big Ten championship in 1967.

And then there are the cynics—fans and media who say already they don’t like him. It’s a group who took a couple of looks at the 36-year-old coach after his arrival in Dinkytown last January and decided he’s a phony. Nope, they’re not buying into the energetic coach who talks frequently about changing the culture of Gophers football and winning championships.

“Elite.” That’s what Fleck says his vision is for Gophers football. The price to achieve that status must be paid every day until the goal is accomplished. Then the culture must be sustained to have ongoing success. Fleck lives and breathes that. He believes Gophers football can’t go to the Rose Bowl, play in the College Football Playoffs and restore greatness to a program that long ago lost its way unless he is true to himself and his beliefs.

The critics think Fleck should go about his business in a quiet, unassuming manner. They put him down for being so outgoing and passionate, and having lofty ambitions for the program, including expansion of TCF Bank Stadium by 30,000 seats within a few years. Instead of a helping hand, the Fleck naysayers would enjoy seeing his “boat” sink early and often.

Fleck sat in his office this week and talked to Sports Headliners about the fan and media environment he inherited when he took over the Gophers job. Fleck said he isn’t surprised by the varied welcome he’s received. He knows the carousel of coaches who have tried to win here and he recognizes that critics and skeptics abound in one of the nation’s largest metro areas. He characterizes himself as a coach who is a builder and welcomes challenges. The landscape of the Gophers program and all it encompasses is something he wanted.

“I came here to bring the positivity,” he said. “I am one of the most optimistic people you’ll ever meet. I don’t care what people say about me negatively, that will never affect me as a person.”

“The reason I took this job is because I could be the real me,” Fleck said. “…I’ve been this way my entire life. The ‘King of the Too’s.’ Too small, too short, too young, too inexperienced, too energetic, too much personality. That’s my entire life (those labels)—and (yet) everything I’ve said I was going to do, I’ve accomplished.”

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 

Fleck said there are “cynical people out there that hate my guts already. There are a lot of them.” Fleck, though, doesn’t attack the critics and skeptics, even the most nasty of them, and acknowledges he hasn’t won any games yet.

“I don’t blame them. My job is to continue to show why I came here,” Fleck said. “But that doesn’t happen four years from now if I don’t win today. Winning doesn’t happen unless we win in recruiting today. We win in developing our players today. We win in the leadership council at 6 a.m. today. If we don’t win in those areas—academically, athletically, socially, spiritually—daily, then how can we win championships?”

It doesn’t seem like too much to ask the naysayers and everyone else to give Fleck a couple of years to show what he, his staff and players can do. “I am not going to give up,” Fleck said. “That’s why I came here.”

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 

Can't have that job and take that stuff too much to heart. It would kill you.
 

BleedGopher said:
Fleck said there are “cynical people out there that hate my guts already. There are a lot of them.” Fleck, though, doesn’t attack the critics and skeptics, even the most nasty of them, and acknowledges he hasn’t won any games yet.

“I don’t blame them. My job is to continue to show why I came here,” Fleck said. “But that doesn’t happen four years from now if I don’t win today. Winning doesn’t happen unless we win in recruiting today. We win in developing our players today. We win in the leadership council at 6 a.m. today. If we don’t win in those areas—academically, athletically, socially, spiritually—daily, then how can we win championships?”

It doesn’t seem like too much to ask the naysayers and everyone else to give Fleck a couple of years to show what he, his staff and players can do. “I am not going to give up,” Fleck said. “That’s why I came here.”

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
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Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban win daily?
 



I've encountered virtually no one that hates his guts. As far as a head coaching hire, I can't remember one that was more universally praised. He has a section of followers who seem to put anyone who has any criticism (for anything to do with Fleck, even tangentially) in the bucket of "hate". Heaven forbid you make any joke about anything that he says.

I'm not surprised that his weird little group of followers would classify all of that as "hate" but I really hope he isn't so thin-skinned to be the same way.
 

Maybe after he starts winning that section of followers will lighten up. Maybe.....
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I've encountered virtually no one that hates his guts. As far as a head coaching hire, I can't remember one that was more universally praised. He has a section of followers who seem to put anyone who has any criticism (for anything to do with Fleck, even tangentially) in the bucket of "hate". Heaven forbid you make any joke about anything that he says.

I'm not surprised that his weird little group of followers would classify all of that as "hate" but I really hope he isn't so thin-skinned to be the same way.
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yeah, i wouldn't characterize anything i've seen as hate. whole lot of cynicism though. Holtz was more universally praised I would argue. Everyone was on board.
 




Wow, there are so many strawmen in that it's difficult to know where to start.

The critics think Fleck should go about his business in a quiet, unassuming manner. They put him down for being so outgoing and passionate, and having lofty ambitions for the program, including expansion of TCF Bank Stadium by 30,000 seats within a few years. Instead of a helping hand, the Fleck naysayers would enjoy seeing his “boat” sink early and often.

I can confidently say nobody wants him to fail. Not everyone enjoys his "culture" but I don't see how that equates to rooting for the team to lose. I don't think anyone cares that he's loud and outgoing, they care about HOWpher and joyfulness/happiness. Just because everyone doesn't buy into his cult of culture doesn't mean they want to see him fail. It's puzzling.

Then again, there is a subset of fans who only open their yappers to criticize other fans. It's their sport and makes them feel good, I guess. The world is full of all types.
 

Like many of you I am the "Gopher guy" in my circle of friends and family. I am continually amazed at the level of ignorance when it comes to Gopher football. There is one telling stat that nobody can deny when it comes to the bad news related to this program: No conference championship since 1967. But, when you throw that stat in with the unrealistic terrain of sharing the town with the Vikings, you get a lot of ignorance. The Vikings could make the playoffs once in a 10 year span and somehow they would still be considered to be more successful than a run of 9-4 bowl winning Gopher teams. Somehow, despite not winning the conference in 50 years at the same time this "fan base" has put unrealistic expectations on the Gophers at the same time. So, every season is generally regarded as a failure and "fans" fall over themselves to predict coaching hire failures, collapsed games, and in general - failure.

Therefore, my latest dose of ignorant Gopher fan opinion is the one where "this guy is just like Brewster" or "reminds me of Brewster." I feel like I have an internal DVD that I just hit 'play' and begin to spew things like "Brewster hadn't been a college head coach and just was a position coach while Fleck actually built a top recruiting and top performing team from scratch." Etc. Etc. I can't say if Fleck will ultimately be successful and I'll have to see his teams in action before I can predict success or failure. But I can say right now I am not seeing the connection to Brewster.

As is the case with all recent coaches - a Rose Bowl is perhaps the only thing that will put a dent in this line of thinking.
 

Schnauzer said:
Like many of you I am the "Gopher guy" in my circle of friends and family. I am continually amazed at the level of ignorance when it comes to Gopher football. There is one telling stat that nobody can deny when it comes to the bad news related to this program: No conference championship since 1967. But, when you throw that stat in with the unrealistic terrain of sharing the town with the Vikings, you get a lot of ignorance. The Vikings could make the playoffs once in a 10 year span and somehow they would still be considered to be more successful than a run of 9-4 bowl winning Gopher teams. Somehow, despite not winning the conference in 50 years at the same time this "fan base" has put unrealistic expectations on the Gophers at the same time. So, every season is generally regarded as a failure and "fans" fall over themselves to predict coaching hire failures, collapsed games, and in general - failure.

Therefore, my latest dose of ignorant Gopher fan opinion is the one where "this guy is just like Brewster" or "reminds me of Brewster." I feel like I have an internal DVD that I just hit 'play' and begin to spew things like "Brewster hadn't been a college head coach and just was a position coach while Fleck actually built a top recruiting and top performing team from scratch." Etc. Etc. I can't say if Fleck will ultimately be successful and I'll have to see his teams in action before I can predict success or failure. But I can say right now I am not seeing the connection to Brewster.

As is the case with all recent coaches - a Rose Bowl is perhaps the only thing that will put a dent in this line of thinking.
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I think you're right about the Rose Bowl scenario. Then the cynic's will come out of the woodwork with: " Yup, I said all along what a great hire he was" These are same dip sh-ts
that haven't come within 100 miles of TCF. I'm with PJ all the way win, or lose. It will be interesting on this site on how many will jump ship if the first season isn't the best.
 



The article was full of drawing ridiculous conclusions about people that don't love every little thing about PJF. Shama would fit in perfect on GH.
Also, will we get a 3rd article this week where PJ essentially complains about folks not loving everything he does. Isn't he the one that told us some people wouldn't and that was OK?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I liked Jerry. I thought he did a good job. It bothered me for all his tough guy facade he was so thin skinned. Now, PJ has not even coached a game yet and he's rattling on about people who hate him. Boohoo. PJ can coach. I'm anxious to see the Gophers play. I expect the offense to be much improved. But I'm a little worried if PJ actually does receive some criticism how he might react.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
I think you're right about the Rose Bowl scenario. Then the cynic's will come out of the woodwork with: " Yup, I said all along what a great hire he was" These are same dip sh-ts
that haven't come within 100 miles of TCF. I'm with PJ all the way win, or lose. It will be interesting on this site on how many will jump ship if the first season isn't the best.
Click to expand...

Can't jump ship if they were never on board. Sept. can't come fast enough!
 

Can someone find me a post or link to a post or a recoding of someone hoping PJ will fail. I sense that this is one group of fans projecting their preconceived notions onto another group of fans.

Some people didn't like Claeys for various reasons. Not exciting enough. Bad pep talks. Recruiting. Questionable in-game decisions at times.

Some didn't like Kill. Thought he was fake. Had a ceiling. Bad recruiter. Thin-skinned.

is it fair to say that every coach, heck every person you know has some characteristics that might bother you a little bit? Things that grate? PJ has nothing but positive coaching history, he's a good recruiter. He's energetic and mostly positive. His schtick, to me, smacks of a cult leader trying to exert control over his flock. There are little things that grate at times. Things he says I'd wish he'd reword or expand on. I find the culture talk a little weird but if the players like it it's harmless. If it results in undefeated squads I'll be ecstatic.

Bring me evidence there are fans that want him to fail or go away. I don't believe it.
 

Fleck is not wrong in what he says and in what needs to happen to win championships. But, I prefer he shuts up and just does it. Words don't win games.
 



joshvanklomp said:
What game is being played on June 16? Is he supposed to not talk to anyone at all between the spring game on April 15 and the team's first game on August 30?
Click to expand...
Sounds good.
Do the work you need to do. Recruit the players you need to recruit. Coach those players to be excellent.
In no other profession can I think of an executive being so consumed with getting him or herself into the news by incessantly talking. Take a clue from other professions and just go about doing your job. I don't need to here from Coach until his press conference after the game.
 

BleedGopher said:
Fleck said there are “cynical people out there that hate my guts already. There are a lot of them.” Fleck, though, doesn’t attack the critics and skeptics, even the most nasty of them, and acknowledges he hasn’t won any games yet.

“I don’t blame them. My job is to continue to show why I came here,” Fleck said. “But that doesn’t happen four years from now if I don’t win today. Winning doesn’t happen unless we win in recruiting today. We win in developing our players today. We win in the leadership council at 6 a.m. today. If we don’t win in those areas—academically, athletically, socially, spiritually—daily, then how can we win championships?”

It doesn’t seem like too much to ask the naysayers and everyone else to give Fleck a couple of years to show what he, his staff and players can do. “I am not going to give up,” Fleck said. “That’s why I came here.”

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

This statement seems a bit hyperbolic. I sincerely hope there aren't a horde of fans filled with vitriolic hate for someone whom they barely know.
 

MennoSota said:
Sounds good.
Do the work you need to do. Recruit the players you need to recruit. Coach those players to be excellent.
In no other profession can I think of an executive being so consumed with getting him or herself into the news by incessantly talking. Take a clue from other professions and just go about doing your job. I don't need to here from Coach until his press conference after the game.
Click to expand...

Haven't we been criticizing the media for years for not caring enough about the Gophers? A coach like this gives media stuff to talk about. Gopher football has been in the news a lot this offseason, and not negatively. Well, other than the people who think the Gophers coach talking to the media and being in the news is a negative....
 

joshvanklomp said:
Haven't we been criticizing the media for years for not caring enough about the Gophers? A coach like this gives media stuff to talk about. Gopher football has been in the news a lot this offseason, and not negatively. Well, other than the people who think the Gophers coach talking to the media and being in the news is a negative....
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I just want to watch the team play. I don't need to see the coach play.

You ever listen to the Kars for Kids jingle? It was catchy for a day, but I turn it off everytime it comes on now. It's just too much.
Fleck needs to pick his spots to talk.
 

Schnauzer touched on an interesting point regarding Gopher results and expectations.

For years - with a few exceptions when Mason had his good teams - the attitude toward the Gophers among the casual fans and the media was "The Gophers Suck."

The level of scorn toward the program may have peaked when things fell apart under Brewster.

Then, Kill, followed by Claeys, brought the program back to respectability. The Gophs produce 8 wins or more in 3 of four seasons. Which is actually one of the best sustained stretches of success in Gopher FB since the Bernie Bierman years (other than one good 4-year stretch under Mason.)

And what is the attitude from the public: "so what." We even have self-professed Gopher fans on this very site dismissing those seasons as underachieving.

So, what the Bleep does the Gopher program have to do to win people back? Go undefeated? Win another National Championship? I really don't know.

Good isn't good enough. Kill and Claeys had some good teams, but people dismiss those results.

I do NOT want Fleck to fail. I want him to succeed.

But I will be very interested to see what kind of record this year's team produces, and how the public perceives that record.
 


ruppertflywheel said:
I think you're right about the Rose Bowl scenario. Then the cynic's will come out of the woodwork with: " Yup, I said all along what a great hire he was" These are same dip sh-ts
that haven't come within 100 miles of TCF. I'm with PJ all the way win, or lose. It will be interesting on this site on how many will jump ship if the first season isn't the best.
Click to expand...

Wow. Nothing in his way to win 8 this year and get an invite to a NYD bowl. I would classify some of the Flecksters as the sceptical ones. I think he has a real chance to get Gophs in position to get to the Rose bowl after 2019 season. Winning now only enhances his recruiting success.
 

Fleck will succeed. The comment about worrying about him leaving is correct. All anyone has to do is look at the last 50 years of Gopher football and it's more than reasonable to think a coach who has success here will move on. I think he might stay for awhile. But people need to realize where Gopher football stands in the pecking order of programs, that's nothing but being a realist. Fleck will succeed. I don't think he gives two sh^ts if people don't like him. I love when successful coaches get ornery in press conferences or in the media. They know a hell of a lot more about achieving success at a football program than 99% of the people. If for Kill's epilepsy he'd still be here coaching. I like Fleck though, he's better. Best coach since Holtz. Yep, hasn't coached a game here and I'll say that. Gopher football will be fun to follow again, like Kill's years only more so. Kill and Fleck will be the most relevant eras in the last 50 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
Fleck will succeed. The comment about worrying about him leaving is correct. All anyone has to do is look at the last 50 years of Gopher football and it's more than reasonable to think a coach who has success here will move on. I think he might stay for awhile. But people need to realize where Gopher football stands in the pecking order of programs, that's nothing but being a realist. Fleck will succeed. I don't think he gives two sh^ts if people don't like him. I love when successful coaches get ornery in press conferences or in the media. They know a hell of a lot more about achieving success at a football program than 99% of the people. If for Kill's epilepsy he'd still be here coaching. I like Fleck though, he's better. Best coach since Holtz. Yep, hasn't coached a game here and I'll say that. Gopher football will be fun to follow again, like Kill's years only more so. Kill and Fleck will be the most relevant eras in the last 50 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Some Day...Maybe said:
All anyone has to do is look at the last 50 years of Gopher football and it's more than reasonable to think a coach who has success here will move on. I think he might stay for awhile. But people need to realize where Gopher football stands in the pecking order of programs, that's nothing but being a realist.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I thought times were different.
-I thought we were months away from opening an amazing training facility. Not a facility that's almost 50 years old with minimal updates.
-I thought they play in a stadium on campus that's under a decade old. Not an old stadium that needed renovation or renting a quickly-outdated venue two miles away from campus.
-I thought they just paid him the best salary any Minnesota coach has received at $3.5 million per year. Not the $1.5 million his predecessor got or the $600k the guy before him got in base salaries. That's no longer scraping the bottom of the barrel, but in the top-half of Big Ten coaches.

So if we're in agreement that the guy is well-paid and has brand new facilities to work in and help recruit players with, what's making him desperate to leave at first opportunity? Because one coach left for his dream job over 30 years ago?
 

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