The University of Minnesota officially hired P.J. Fleck to be its 30th head football coach in program history eight years ago Monday. The Gophers' 2024-25 season is officially over, so let's take a look back on the first eight years of the Fleck era.
The Gophers are one of the most unique college football programs in the entire country. They were one of the sport's first true blue bloods, and they're the last program to win three straight national championships. But most view Minnesota as a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team. Fleck has brought the program to a place that it hasn't been since at least the Glen Mason era, but you could argue that it's in its best position since the 1960s.
At the end of the day, wins are the most simple stat to judge the success of a head coach. Fleck is climbing up the all-time leaderboard in wins and only trails Mason (64), Murray Warmath (87), Bernie Bierman (93) and Henry Williams (136).
The amount of college football games played has changed drastically since the infancy of the sport. Fleck is still the most successful coach in winning percentage since Bierman, who finished his Minnesota coaching career in 1950.
Through eight seasons, Fleck has the fourth-most Big Ten wins in program history; he trails Williams (50), Bierman (57) and Warmath (65). His 48.5% conference winning percentage also trails all three coaches for fourth best in program history.
Bowl games as we know them today didn't really become a thing in the late 1990s and early 2000s, so it's important to only compare Fleck to coaches in that time frame. Opinions vary on the significance of bowl games, but winning six straight games against nonconference opponents on a neutral field is an impressive feat that should be noted.
The NFL draft is something else that has dramatically changed over the years with the addition and subtraction of rounds, but Fleck is producing professionals at the program's best rate since the 1980s. Minnesota went through a lull in the mid-2000s, but Fleck and his staff have shown they can produce NFL talent.
The Gophers football program is a dramatically different place than it was this time last year. Coming off an 8-5 season and a Duke's Mayo Bowl victory, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic in 2025. Now, Fleck has not yet led the Gophers to a Big Ten Championship Game or a major bowl game appearance, but through eight seasons, he could easily be viewed as the program's best coach since Warmath in the 1960s.
Fleck's unique personality will always make him a polarizing figure to some, but he has objectively built a consistent program at Minnesota. The 2019 season is still carrying a lot of weight on his overall resume, but the future is bright in Dinkytown, and Fleck is a big reason why.
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