Fleck frontrunner for football coach of the year

BleedGopher

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per the Mankato Free Press:

Fleck is the clear frontrunner for Big Ten coach of the year, but should the Gophers falter in upcoming games against No. 23 Iowa and No. 15 Wisconsin, different candidates could emerge. Here’s a list of other coaches worthy of consideration:

Ryan Day, Ohio State: Day inherited plenty of talent when he succeeded Urban Meyer, but transitions in coaching don’t always go smoothly.

The 40-year-old Day has put sophomore Justin Fields among the top quarterbacks in college football with his play-calling and navigated through a distraction this week when OSU’s best defensive player, Chase Young, was suspended indefinitely by the NCAA for accepting a loan to help his girlfriend travel to the Rose Bowl. Without Young, Ohio State still poured it on Maryland, winning 73-14.

“There was adversity this week, and adversity reveals character,” Day told reporters after the win. “I thought we came out and showed that we’re made of something special here.”

Tom Allen, Indiana: Allen has the No. 24 Hoosiers off to a 7-2 start and ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1994. Big tests await at No. 9 Penn State and at home against No. 14 Michigan before finishing the year at rival Purdue.

“Just because you get ranked one week, doesn’t mean all of a sudden you’ve arrived,” Allen said. “At the same time, it’s an acknowledgement of what you’re doing, the foundation you’re laying.”

Back-to-back Top 50 national recruiting classes are starting to pay dividends for Allen in Bloomington, as several young players have emerged, including true freshman cornerback Tiawan Mullen, sophomore running back Stevie Scott III and freshman left tackle Matt Bedford.

“It’s up to us to build off of it, make it to where it’s a foundational launching point rather than just a destination,” Allen said.

Lovie Smith, Illinois: Smith has the Illini on a four-game win streak following a 37-34 win at Michigan State. Illinois trailed 28-3 in the second quarter, then rallied back, scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter to pull off its largest comeback win in school history.

Illinois leads the nation in takeaways with 26 and has recorded four defensive touchdowns during its current streak, which began with a 24-23 upset of Wisconsin.

https://www.mankatofreepress.com/sp...cle_6b41d166-04da-11ea-8ed8-cf89cf1e38ea.html

Go Gophers!!
 



Any coach who can not win big at OSU is not a good coach at all. Day gets nothing from me other than a yawn until year four at least.
 

Any coach who can not win big at OSU is not a good coach at all. Day gets nothing from me other than a yawn until year four at least.

I think Day has been impressive in taking over and having no stumbles in his first year. In fact, the team is playing better than they did last year overall.

So while it's not nearly as tough a job as most in CFB, he's still been impressive.
 


I have never understood how one could know that about an OSU coach. What, he tells the right All Americans to get off the bench and play well on this play, now on that play? I could do that. "You six future NFL players sit on this play, you 11 All Americans get out there, and for Pete sake, stay awake!!"
 

tOSU naturally DQs a coach for that award as long as they keep the success consistent.

Day has done a great job and good for him, but it's hard to measure and history of the award clearly shows they like feel good stories... tOSU ain't that.

The consolation is they get to compete for nattys out of the gate, I'm pretty sure Day would make that trade every day.
 

I have never understood how one could know that about an OSU coach. What, he tells the right All Americans to get off the bench and play well on this play, now on that play? I could do that. "You six future NFL players sit on this play, you 11 All Americans get out there, and for Pete sake, stay awake!!"

I guess that goes towards whether you factor recruiting and such into the equation. It seems like the award goes to the coach whose team most exceeds expectations. To me, that seems a little off. Urban Meyer went ridiculous 54-4 in the B1G over 7 seasons and yet never won a B1G Coach of the Year award.
 

I'll register my vote for Fleck if asked. He's a unique guy with a wonderful way with words and obviously now a great coach (so far).
 



At this point it seems like the Big Ten award has to go to either Fleck of Allen. Nationally, Fleck should be on the short list of candidates as well.
 




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