Did Fleck make the right choice by going to Minnesota?
After emerging as one of the hottest young coaches in the nation while leading Western Michigan to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the Cotton Bowl this year, P.J. Fleck waved goodbye to the Broncos on Friday and said hello to Minnesota.
The 36-year-old was unveiled as the Golden Gophers' new head coach in a clear win for Minnesota - but was it the right choice for Fleck?
YES
Urban Meyer can trace his success back to deciding to leave Bowling Green of the MAC for the bigger lights of Utah after compiling a 17-6 career record with the Falcons.
From there, Meyer went on to win two national championships at Florida and another one at Ohio State. In his book "Urban's Way," Meyer said he was advised to get out of the MAC as soon as he could because that's where coaches' careers go to die if they stay too long.
After successfully turning around Western Michigan, Fleck's match with a Minnesota program currently in disarray comes at a perfect time. Fleck is as charismatic and energetic as can be, and his ability to connect with players will help ease the ongoing tension between the administration and the football program.
As for Fleck, he moves to the Power 5 on a reported five-year deal worth $17.5 million. That would've been a lot of money to turn down.
He'll coach in the West Division of the Big Ten, avoiding blue bloods Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State regularly. Additionally, Minnesota's schedules over the next two seasons should make nine and 10 wins easily achievable, as the Gophers have the Wolverines (2017) and Buckeyes (2018) only once and avoid the Nittany Lions altogether.
Some will say Fleck should've waited until next year to move on, but there is no guarantee he would have gotten a job offer, and no certainty that he would've remained as hot as he is now.
- McKenzie Dalgleish
NO
Of all the Power 5 coaching jobs that opened up this winter, Minnesota's was arguably the least desirable. Even Purdue, which has become a laughingstock in recent years, at least has the history and national recognition to make it somewhat attractive for recruits.
A jump to the Big Ten is nice, but probably would've been attainable next year. Several other Power 5 jobs are bound to become vacant for one reason or another over the next 12 months, too.
Of course, staying at Western Michigan for another year would've carried risk for Fleck. He would've lost a bunch of upperclassmen to graduation and may not have been able to repeat this season's success.
Still, the chances of his stock plummeting were slim. For example, Tom Herman took Houston to the Peach Bowl two years ago, but settled for the Las Vegas Bowl this year. He's now the head coach at Texas.
Fleck inherits a team coming off a 9-4 season, but that may be as good as Minnesota gets. Before this season, the Gophers hadn't won nine-plus games since 2003.
Fleck will take his boat to Minnesota, but he'll be rowing upstream, not down, if he wishes to eventually land an even bigger job.
- Alex Chippin