If Minnesota football didn’t seem like a winning program before, it has proven it’s serious about becoming one with PJ Fleck’s extension.
If Minnesota didn’t seem serious before, it certainly does now.
Sources: P.J. Fleck has agreed to a new seven-year contract at Minnesota. Deal includes significant pay raise for he and his staff.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 5, 2019
In the midst of the rumors of PJ Fleck being considered for the Florida State vacancy, Minnesota was proactive and paid its head coach.
The third-year head coach for the Gophers came over from Western Michigan after leading the MAC program to a New Year’s Six bowl. He was considered one of the hottest commodities at the time but the Gophers were just 12-13 in his first two seasons with the program. He was tasked with getting Minnesota its first Big Ten title since 1967 and before the 2019 season, things weren’t looking great.
And then he started getting his guys in place.
Heading into Week 11 against No. 5 Penn State, Minnesota is 8-0 and ranked No. 13 in the country. The Gophers host the Nittany Lions in what could be the toughest test to date for Penn State and you better believe Fleck will have his guys fired up — he’s that type of coach, if you didn’t know by now.
But when Willie Taggart was fired by Florida State after losing to Miami on their home turf, Fleck’s name rose to the surface as one of the potential replacements. He quickly shot the rumors down, calling Minnesota a “big-time job”.
The Gophers have been known as nothing more than an average Big Ten program, but that has all changed with them paying the big bucks to keep Fleck through 2026.
Minnesota might end up winning the Big Ten West this season and facing a team like Ohio State in the conference title game with a chance to prove itself yet again. If that happens, Minnesota may have just gotten a bargain with this extension.