PJ Fleck growing as a coach

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Fleck’s track record here at MN has been one of improvement throughout each season. There have been outliers (2017, and the Wisconsin game in 2019 was not one of the better played games for the Gophers).

But, the defense improved and the team looked a lot better at season’s end in 2018. The defense improved and the team looked a lot better at season’s end in 2020 (despite running out of players due to Covid). The team began struggling with cupcakes and dominated B1G opponents as the season went on in 2019. The Gophers look far better now than they did against Miami and Bowling Green this season.

seems like a mark of good coaching to have teams steadily improve through each season.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
On the flip side, Fleck may be growing as a coach, but he certainly still has room for improvement - or shall we say areas of the game that can be improved on.

in-game strategy - use of time-outs - and (IMHO) overly cautious approach to end-of-half and end-of-game situations. those have been on-going issues. they may not be fatal issues, but there's enough there to be concerned about.
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I don't think Fleck denies that he has room for improvement. We all do.
 

PJ has learned the importance of a strong defense with depth. Thanks to the Transfer Portal he instantaneously upgraded defensively.

Iowa and Wiscy thrive not because of their offensive prowess, but because of their defense. That is the secret sauce.
 

btowngopher said:
I’m not old enough to remember pre Mason, but I don’t think the athletes that Fleck inherited were a whole lot better than what Kill inherited. Beyond how these three coaches started, I would argue that the optimism of a higher ceiling for the future with Fleck is greater than it was with Mason or Kill at this stage.
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I disagree pretty strongly. Look at 2019 and look at the number of players Fleck inherited that were major impact players including maybe the best Gopher in my lifetime (Winfield). The difference was astronomical. What PJ inherited was the major foundation of the best team in my lifetime. Regardless of the coaching, a team made up of mostly the 2010 Gopher roster would really struggle. Fleck inherited the best player (by a wide margin), better OL, better LBs (who had more than 1 year), better WR and a deeper talent pool. We STILL have pre-Fleck players contributing to the 2021 team (Kieft, Olson, Schlueter, Durr).

As to your last point about the higher ceiling, no need to argue it. We're in agreement. PJ is the best coach in my lifetime and a major part of that is that I genuinely believe we have a much higher ceiling than any time in my life. I was merely pointing out that Kill and Mason (even Brew) inherited extremely empty cupboards.
 




Bob_Loblaw said:
I disagree pretty strongly. Look at 2019 and look at the number of players Fleck inherited that were major impact players including maybe the best Gopher in my lifetime (Winfield). The difference was astronomical. What PJ inherited was the major foundation of the best team in my lifetime. Regardless of the coaching, a team made up of mostly the 2010 Gopher roster would really struggle. Fleck inherited the best player (by a wide margin), better OL, better LBs (who had more than 1 year), better WR and a deeper talent pool. We STILL have pre-Fleck players contributing to the 2021 team (Kieft, Olson, Schlueter, Durr).

As to your last point about the higher ceiling, no need to argue it. We're in agreement. PJ is the best coach in my lifetime and a major part of that is that I genuinely believe we have a much higher ceiling than any time in my life. I was merely pointing out that Kill and Mason (even Brew) inherited extremely empty cupboards.
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I don’t know about OLine, Fleck inherited rs freshmen Olsen and Schlueter, but other than those two that unit didn’t look too hot. RBs, Fleck by wide margin, although durability was an issue. DL, Kill inherited better, and really failed to upgrade it in a meaningful way. QB was bad for both, but I think Kill inheriting Gray was a little better situation. WRs, yes Johnson was awesome, but I give this to Kill as far as depth and overall talent. Tight ends, Fleck. LBs, Fleck. DBs, Fleck, but Kill did inherit some decent players, Michael Carter, Troy Stoudermire, Vereen, Royston. So I think Fleck overall, but I really don’t think the margin is very wide. Especially when you consider how critical QB and Dline are. RB can be drastically improved in one year. Fleck did inherit more players that became high level guys, but as far as overall talent and immediate impact talent from day one, it’s not a massive gaps in my eyes.
 

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