Kfans already got commercials with fleck saying ski u mah.
On a side note...so dumb. Nothing fires up today's kids like ski u mah or rah.
Printable View
I don't see how Miles wouldn't have cost much more, and you are assuming the Gophers were able to make him an attractive offer. Not just with money but with the kind of control he would have.
But I agree with much of the rest of that. Coaching in college is about a lot more than x's and o's. I kind of feel that way about Klieman, that talent overcame a lot of poor on-the-field coaching. I think Miles would have been a better choice, I just don't know if that was ever all that realistic. More than I initially thought, I suppose, since he did actually fly in.
He was making something like 4.3m at LSU. That isn't a lot more than Fleck is going to get at UM. I wonder if it was more about the 6 years. Then you add to that the kind of control part of it, like you said. It would be interesting how any conversation with Miles actually went. Maybe it was just a looksee to gain leverage with Fleck.
I may be out-of-line with my thoughts about Fleck, but does anyone else see some similarities with him to Bob Stitt at Montana? Not so much with the Xs and Os of the game, but from the standpoint of his hyperactive, gung-ho, hard charging in-your-face interaction with the team and the fans right out of the gate...really turns me off and I question whether that can be effective long term. Stitt has already proven to be a flash-in-the-pan, and his persona has mellowed somewhat after he has been humbled for two seasons. But Montana and/or Western Michigan administration and fans will be more patient with their coaches and probably cut them more slack than the Minnesota admin and fan base will. It seems to me that a new coach would be best received in Minnesota by being a little more conservative, measured but deliberate, especially with the history of coaches at Minnesota recently (I.e.: Mason, Brewster, and others etc.).
Aside from the new coach's personality and cheerleading/motivational capabilities, It still comes down to whether the new coach can win and win consistently!
I see more similarities between Fleck and Jim Wacker, former Bison coach. Wacker ran the kick-ass veer offense and his teams were fun to watch. But I understand his intensity eventually grew tiresome for some on his teams. Wacker's success here and in Texas didn't translate well at Minnesota. I wish Fleck better luck.
Not sure you can call PJ Fleck a flash in the pan, what he pulled off at WMU is pretty remarkable. However, I don't think he is the right guy for the Gophers. That town eats football coaches for lunch and a CEO type like Miles would have been a better fit. A 7-5 Fleck team in MN will grow old quick with his schtick. Who knows though, if there was ever a program that had an unearned giant ego to match Fleck, it's them.
University of Minnesota has long been characterized (both football and basketball) as career suicide. Will that trend continue with Fleck?
8. “We’re also going to recruit the finest student-athletes in the country, and you know where we’re going to start, and you know where we’re going to build walls up around? Our elite State of Minnesota, and that’s what I’m dedicated to. We’re going to draw a circle around six to seven hours around the Twin City area, and then we’re going to go to work, because we want to fill the bank every single game.”
From Fleck's 1st Presser....Looks like he's not going to let us have anymore recruits from MN.