Big Ten Football: Power Ranking every Big Ten coach
11. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
- 2017 record: 5-7 (2-7)
- 2018 B1G recruiting class rank: 6 of 14
Another first year coach that needs some time to truly be evaluated, there is no doubt that new Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach can coach having just taken Western Michigan to a near perfect record.
Fleck is continuing to build the program off-the-field as the Gophers recruiting class has skyrocketed since his arrival. Despite this, the Gophers had an abysmal season and underperformed in a of areas, specifically overall success- posting just five wins overall, two in conference.
The Gophers had a relatively easy schedule lined up for Fleck’s inaugural season and after a nice 3-0 start against lesser opponents, it appeared Fleck would have his team running ahead of schedule. Inconsistencies amongst personnel and the overall talent level showed on a routine basis, causing the Gophers to fall badly against better teams and even against equal or lesser competition.
As of right now, Fleck has a lot of work to do to catch up to the major coaches in the Big Ten Conference, but his rank amongst the rest of the group is strictly based on his lack of experience within the league so far.