Since joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2017, P.J. Fleck has been a revelation of a head coach, turning the football team into a force to be reckoned with. Now the school is hoping to keep him in Minneapolis into the end of the 2020s.
According to Matt Fortune of The Athletic, Fleck has agreed to a new seven-year, $42 million deal with Minnesota. Per the report, the deal includes a $1 million annual raise from his previous deal.
Fleck is 43-27 as head coach of the Golden Gophers and 26-26 in the Big Ten. He went 8-4 in the regular season this past year, earning the team a trip to the Pinstripe Bowl in the process.
Minnesota have finished top two in the Big Ten West in three of the last four seasons. But 2019 was the year that Fleck really showed the world how far his program has come.
The Golden Gophers went 11-2 that year, famously knocking off No. 4 Penn State before missing their chance at the Big Ten Championship Game with a loss to Wisconsin. They went on to beat No. 12 Auburn in the Outback Bowl to finish 10th in the polls.
Sources: Minnesota and head coach P.J. Fleck have agreed to a new seven-year, $42 million deal, an increase of $1 million per year over his previous deal.
Fleck has the most wins by a Gophers coach through six seasons since 1905.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 7, 2022
P.J. Fleck made his reputation by turning around Western Michigan in four years there. After going 1-11 in his first season, he went 29-11 over the next three years, leading the Broncos to an undefeated regular season in 2016 and a No. 15 finish that year.
After going 5-7 in his first year, Fleck went 6-6 in the regular season the following season and won the Quick Lane Bowl. From there, it’s been mostly uphill save for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Will P.J. Fleck stay at Minnesota for the rest of the decade now?