5 Best Head Coaching Changes Entering 2017

2. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota

Head coach P.J. Fleck carries the “Row the Boat” trademark with him to the Big Ten Conference and he should make noise immediately at Minnesota. The Minnesota Golden Gophers went 9-4 in 2016. The dismissal of head coach Tracy Claeys came after he supported a players’ boycott amidst a sexual assault investigation surrounding the suspension of 10 players on the football team.

Fleck is coming off a 13-1 season at Western Michigan which concluded with a trip to the Cotton Bowl. They lost 24-16 to the Wisconsin Badgers. The Broncos were still ninth in the FBS in scoring offense (41.6) and 15th in scoring defense (19.8) in 2016. Fleck is a head coach who brings energy and culture change to a program in need of a top-tier coach. He faces some tough obstacles in head coaches Urban Meyer, James Franklin and Jim Harbaugh to a name a few but 2017 will serve as a good test for him.

2017 Outlook: Recruiting and Scheduling

Since his arrival, Fleck has already made noise on the recruiting trail by flipping recruit Demetrious Douglas from Oregon to Minnesota. We’ve seen Fleck rebuild Western Michigan, leading them to three bowl appearances in four seasons. So far at Minnesota, he’s off to an impressive start in recruiting, if not without controversy. He’s already flipped eight of his recruits from Western Michigan to Minnesota.

Minnesota now has 20 verbal commitments as signing day approaches, according to 247 Sports. Their recruiting class ranks 50th nationally.

Minnesota opens the season August 31 against Buffalo then travels to Oregon State on September 9. Then, they face Middle Tennessee on September 16. The 2017 schedule for the Golden Gophers isn’t too difficult in the beginning but with Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin on the conference schedule, Fleck will have to prove himself among some of the elite next season.