Get Over It Golden Gophers – PJ Fleck is the Best Minnesota Can Get

PJ Fleck - Beyond the Noise  

PJ Fleck has many facets. He is often described as a carnival barker, used car salesman, sloganeer, and full of gimmicks.

Fleck is famous for his “Row the Boat” mantra. However, instead of being a cheap slogan, “Row the Boat” is meant as an inspirational message related to the loss of Fleck’s infant son, Colt. He uses it as a tribute to Colt and to encourage his players never to give up and to do their part in ensuring the team’s success.  But to outsiders, it has become an object of scorn and ridicule.

Still, for substantive fans, Minnesota has enjoyed its best era of success since Murray Warmath reached his zenith with three consecutive Top 10 finishes from 1960 through 1962, winning the 1960 national championship during the stretch. That national championship was the 7^th and final for the Golden Gophers.

As college football went through integration in the early 1970s, talented black players from the South stayed home instead of moving north to play in the big time. Minnesota has never recovered from losing that former advantage.

Fleck’s teams play an old-school style that contradicts the noise surrounding the coach. Fleck emphasizes complementary and physical football with power running, strong offensive line play, and reliable defense. Ironically, his on-field coaching philosophy is without gimmicks, and that is one of the key reasons for his success.

Minnesota's Institutional Challenges  

The University of Minnesota is in Minneapolis, a pro sports town with teams in all four major leagues. Traditionally, major metropolitan megamarkets with pro sports are not homes to perennial power college football programs. The best programs are typically located in college towns, isolated from big cities.

Minnesota is known as the “State of Hockey,” where its high school state tournament is a cultural event. The state is home to several major college hockey programs. Despite being the only Power Five school in the state, Minnesota does not have a natural football recruiting advantage. Top-level recruits are not plentiful in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.

In 2024, Minnesota ranked 34^th in the nation for its recruiting class, an improvement of 12 spots from 2023 and their best ranking since 2021, a finish of the nation’s 28^th-ranked class. Like its arch-rivals from Iowa and Wisconsin, the Golden Gophers have never been a recruiting juggernaut and emphasize development and culture over flashy 5-star players.

The recruiting limits of Minnesota play into Fleck’s approach of fundamentally sound complimentary football. But that institutional fact puts a ceiling on just how far Minnesota can realistically finish. In that epic 2019 season, The Golden Gophers pierced the program’s gravity. 

The Elephant in the Room 

Last season, PJ Fleck warned that Minnesota was in danger of becoming the equivalent of a baseball or hockey “Triple-A ballclub” because of its lack of NIL programs. Fleck warned Minnesota would develop but lose its best players to the transfer portal because of NIL.

In fact, Fleck already lost key players who should have been playing for the Gophers but either were not paid or not paid enough. Previously, Minnesota lost key running backs such as Bucky Irving, Ky Thomas, and Trey Potts. For Fleck’s type of offense, those were devastating departures.

So far this offseason, Minnesota lost a whopping 18 players to the portal. The headliner is 2023 starting QB Athan Kaliakmanis, who defected to Rutgers, where former Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca now serves. Athan’s brother Dino Kaliakmanis also transferred to Rutgers. In Fleck’s defense, he warned all QBs that there would be an open competition. And Kaliakmanis had an ineffective finish to the 2023 campaign.

At the moment, Graduate transfer Max Brosmer arrives from New Hampshire to take the #1 spot on the depth chart. Brosmer was a Second Team FCS All-American in 2023

Of major concern is a defense that ranked 6^th (2021) and 4^th (2022) for points allowed fell to 70^th in that category in 2023. Injuries and roster transition decimated Minnesota. But most fans didn’t want to hear about that or NIL, instead complaining that Fleck was making excuses.

Also, Fleck took full advantage of the extra COVID season to post 9-4 records in 2021 and 2022. Once those key veteran players finally departed, Minnesota was caught flat-footed and outclassed. And without competitive NIL, the cupboard is not stocked with as much quality as in the past.

PJ Fleck and Minnesota face a fork in the road season. The question is if the University of Minnesota is committed enough to its football program to either adapt or die. Fleck is a proven coach. Flack loves Minnesota and has rejected other offers to stay. And Minnesota would be foolish to think it could do better.

It's time to ante up and start rowing, Golden Gophers.