5 Reasons P.J. Fleck Should be the Next Notre Dame Head Coach

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Nov 27, 2015; Toledo, OH, USA; Western Michigan Broncos head coach P.J. Fleck raises both arms during the third quarter against the Toledo Rockets at Glass Bowl. Broncos win 35-30. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Midwestern Connections

Beyond merely coaching in the MAC, Fleck also has deep roots in the Midwest. Aside from his time in the NFL as a wide receiver for two years with the San Francisco 49ers and his time working as an assistant under Greg Schiano at Rutgers and Tampa Bay, Fleck has lived in the region pretty much all his life. Those connections have served him well as a recruiter in the area as both an assistant and a head coach.

Fleck was born in Sugar Grove, Illinois in November 1980 and attended Northern Illinois University. He spent a year as a graduate assistant under Jim Tressel at Ohio State after his short NFL career ended, then returned to his alma mater as a position coach under Jerry Kill and added the title of recruiting coordinator when Dave Doeren took over. He eventually left to work under Schiano, but he was gone for just three years.

Then he came right back to the Midwest when Western Michigan came calling. The man from Illinois has made his mark in the same conference where he proved himself well enough to make an NFL roster, and just like Leahy and Parseghian and the immigrant Rockne another man who spent his formative years in the Midwest could be just the ticket to restore glory in South Bend.

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