Ranking B1G football coaches on the hot seat (Fleck #7)

pk2

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From collegefootballnews.com

7. P.J. FLECK, MINNESOTA

The act is wearing thin, but he beat Wisconsin and he got the Gophers to a bowl and won it. Even so, it’s Year Three – this is when Minnesota is supposed to be make a big move.

Last Season Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 6

The complete ranking (from coolest to hottest seat):

14. Fitzgerald
13. Frost
12. Ferentz
11. Dantonio
10. Brohm
9. Chryst
8. Locksley
7. Fleck
6. Franklin
5. Harbaugh
4. Allen
3. Smith
2. Day
1. Ash

https://collegefootballnews.com/201...ch-rankings-for-every-power-five-conference/2
 

Misleading title. The article does not say that Fleck is on the hot seat.
Also, anyone that has Fleck's seat hotter than Chryst's after last year isn't worth listening to.
 

"Misleading title"? Nowhere in the title does it say that the article says he's on the hot seat. He's 7th on the hot seat, according to the article. The title is pretty clear about that. Wow.
 

Misleading title. The article does not say that Fleck is on the hot seat.
Also, anyone that has Fleck's seat hotter than Chryst's after last year isn't worth listening to.

You're being sarcastic here, right?
 

Good to see Frost and Locksley earning their spots
 


Fleck should be 9th on this list.


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Fleck really isn't on the hot seat but imagine if he hadn't made that defensive coordinator change halfway through the season and Robb Smith had stayed on.
That would probably be a totally different second half of the season and I imagine we would have considerably different conversations about the Gopher football team right now. Point is - you can go from being pretty comfortable to being in the hot seat pretty quickly!
 

Where does “his act is wearing thin” come from? Most of those who hate his act have from the beginning. Most who like it have too. For many, the end of last season made his act irrelevant, at least for now.
 

From collegefootballnews.com

7. P.J. FLECK, MINNESOTA

The act is wearing thin, but he beat Wisconsin and he got the Gophers to a bowl and won it. Even so, it’s Year Three – this is when Minnesota is supposed to be make a big move.

Last Season Big Ten Spring Hot Seat Ranking: 6

The complete ranking (from coolest to hottest seat):

14. Fitzgerald
13. Frost
12. Ferentz
11. Dantonio
10. Brohm
9. Chryst
8. Locksley
7. Fleck
6. Franklin
5. Harbaugh
4. Allen
3. Smith
2. Day
1. Ash

https://collegefootballnews.com/201...ch-rankings-for-every-power-five-conference/2

I honestly can’t tell by looking at the list which direction is the hottest seat.
 



All signals suggest he's #14 in Coyle's book. Completely different for the diehards and casual fans, but hard to imagine the AD putting down his oar until the boat is obviously sinking.

All in all 7 is probably right but Coach being seen as a "hot hand" (for poaching) seems more likely than in the "hot seat."
 

Act is wearing thin? I'd argue the exact opposite. As MrC said, for people that either didn't like his "act" or did like is enthusiasm - everything has pretty much stayed the same.

But for the majority - the people that couldn't help but compare him to Brewster in the early days - I felt more of them came around and started to like Fleck this past season. The average Gopher fans were taking notice by the end of the season and instead of asking if he was Brewster 2.0, they were wondering out loud if Fleck's style was indeed helping the team turn the corner.

So, I'd argue 2018 was the year the act grew "thicker" and that line in particular is a bad take.
 

I honestly can’t tell by looking at the list which direction is the hottest seat.

Here's a hint....Fitzgerald probably has the coldest seat anywhere in college football. If he wants to coach at Northwestern for the next 30 years they will let him.
 

Act is wearing thin? I'd argue the exact opposite. As MrC said, for people that either didn't like his "act" or did like is enthusiasm - everything has pretty much stayed the same.

But for the majority - the people that couldn't help but compare him to Brewster in the early days - I felt more of them came around and started to like Fleck this past season. The average Gopher fans were taking notice by the end of the season and instead of asking if he was Brewster 2.0, they were wondering out loud if Fleck's style was indeed helping the team turn the corner.

So, I'd argue 2018 was the year the act grew "thicker" and that line in particular is a bad take.

Totally agree. The Wisconsin game really seemed to turn the tide on some of the support for Fleck. There are still going to be those that bristle every time he talks but you could feel a shift in perception over the last few games last year. Many of those that were convinced Fleck only cared about himself and how he looked on camera, started to see that maybe he does have some idea what he is doing.

Now that can all shift again quickly if the team doesn't continue to build on the way it finished last season but in the short term I think Fleck earned a lot more leash with a number of the fans that were on the fence, with the way the year ended.
 



A truism of sports is fans will turn quickly based on that week’s result. Everything is looking up on offense and there is hope that the defense will continue the run it had at the end of the year. Talented players in all phases give hope.

PJ is about as safe as a coach can be barring a 1 to 2 win season. Even then I think he’d get another season to turn it around.

The only coaches at any sort of risk are likely Ash (surprised he’s still there), Smith, Allen. Harbaugh if he has a bad season. I can’t see Day getting fired afte one season unless he derails the train which is certainly possible but not likely this year given Urban’s players and system is largely intact.
 



Here's a hint....Fitzgerald probably has the coldest seat anywhere in college football. If he wants to coach at Northwestern for the next 30 years they will let him.

Agreed, but Frost is a slow start away from a revolt in Nebraska, I thought most Iowa fans are tired of Ferentz, Day JUST got hired so I’d think his seat can’t be very hot...
 

That article is dumb and the writers should feel dumb.

I really wonder if they didn't have the internet in front of them they'd be able to recall any information about Minnesota, or any other Big Ten team not named Ohio St., Michigan, Or Penn State.
 

A truism of sports is fans will turn quickly based on that week’s result. Everything is looking up on offense and there is hope that the defense will continue the run it had at the end of the year. Talented players in all phases give hope.

PJ is about as safe as a coach can be barring a 1 to 2 win season. Even then I think he’d get another season to turn it around.

The only coaches at any sort of risk are likely Ash (surprised he’s still there), Smith, Allen. Harbaugh if he has a bad season. I can’t see Day getting fired afte one season unless he derails the train which is certainly possible but not likely this year given Urban’s players and system is largely intact.

You mostly encapsulated my thoughts - though I would say that Allen isn't in much danger yet as he'll only be entering his 3rd season.

In my opinion, the only coaches with any chance of being fired in the next year (barring legal/NCAA trouble, of course) are Ash and Smith. I'd put those two tied for #1 and the rest tied at #3 (or #14, if you prefer.) Having Day at #2 is really, really stupid. He hasn't even coached his first game yet, and he has been getting interest from the NFL.
 

Agreed, but Frost is a slow start away from a revolt in Nebraska, I thought most Iowa fans are tired of Ferentz, Day JUST got hired so I’d think his seat can’t be very hot...

As others have pointed out it is a really poorly written article. Totally agree that Day at #2 is dumb because sure he could get fired but it would take a ton for that to happen. When a coach is on the hot seat it means they are coaching for their life, win or get fired.

Frankly using the term hot seat is dumb because as DPO and other mentioned, there are only a few coaches in the conference that are actually on any sort of hot seat at all this year. Most of the Big Ten coaches are fine barring a complete disaster or scandal of some kind this season.
 

So, I'd argue 2018 was the year the act grew "thicker" and that line in particular is a bad take.

So you think it is an act?


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If Fleck can post winning seasons, win a few trophy games, and avoid any off-field problems, he can have the job at MN as long as he wants it - or as long as Coyle is the AD.

It would help if attendance picked up. In case you've forgotten, Coyle cited attendance as a reason for changing coaches. But, being cynical, I suspect that Coyle is not going to blame Fleck for any attendance issues. Coyle may not have created the mess (thank you, Norwood....) but he inherited it, and now it's his problem.

so, if anyone is on the hot seat, it might be Coyle more than Fleck, given attendance issues with Football, men's basketball and the utter fiasco that is Gopher Men's Hockey. if the TV money ever stops flowing, things could get interesting.
 

In case you've forgotten, Coyle cited attendance as a reason for changing coaches.

Coyle also cited recruiting as a reason for changing coaches. In 2 years and 3 recruiting classes, we've gone from 46th to 43rd overall, and from 8th to 10th in the Big Ten.

It's almost as if Coyle made up BS reasons to publicly justify firing the coach instead of just being honest.
 


Coyle also cited recruiting as a reason for changing coaches. In 2 years and 3 recruiting classes, we've gone from 46th to 43rd overall, and from 8th to 10th in the Big Ten.

It's almost as if Coyle made up BS reasons to publicly justify firing the coach instead of just being honest.

Here he goes again...
 

I really wonder if they didn't have the internet in front of them they'd be able to recall any information about Minnesota, or any other Big Ten team not named Ohio St., Michigan, Or Penn State.

Just too lazy, that's sports news these days.
 


He’s not wrong though


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Yes he is.

What about last years class, which was ranked 7th in the B1G and 38th overall? What about Claeys 2nd class (1st full class), which was ranked dead last, by far, in the B1G and ~75th overall when he was fired a month before signing day? Somehow DPO glossed over those details.
 

Yes, Claeys wouldn’t have signed any more players. /s. I have to say though, I’m not sure how much to savage Claeys for not signing Jordan Ta’amu. That one has stuck in my craw and I’ve heard differing accounts. Surely Claeys tenuous hold on his job and his short contract didn’t help recruiting. The alternate track of history, had Claeys survived, would have included Seth Green at QB according to very reliable multiple sources. We’ll never know if the good ship Claeys would have remained competitive or not. That ship has sailed.

There are always reasons for firing, most never said. What if the new president states she wants an AD that doesn’t instigate a team boycott because he’s a terrible communicator? Audible gasp?
 

What if the new president states she wants an AD that doesn’t instigate a team boycott because he’s a terrible communicator? Audible gasp?

Gasp as in you still haven’t figured out the AD has nothing to do with the EOAA and it’s processes? And it’s not the job of the AD to communicate a process he had nothing to do with. Yes, that type of stupid thinking makes me gasp.
 




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