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P.J. Fleck hears from 100-plus former players after Gophers beat Michigan
Gophers' football coach P.J. Fleck held his weekly news conference on Monday at Athletes Village following Minnesota's 20-14 win over Michigan. Fleck said he heard from more than 100 of his former players after the game via a video message, as it was his 100th career win as a head coach.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Little Brown Jug is staying in Minneapolis after the Gophers beat Michigan 20-14 on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Fans stormed the field to celebrate as Minnesota improved to 4-1 on the season, and 2-0 in Big Ten play. In a postgame on-field interview, P.J. Fleck called it one of the best days of his life, aside from getting married and having kids. He’s also heard from several of his former players since.
P.J. Fleck earns 100th career win
What we know:
The Gophers’ win over Michigan was Fleck’s 100th in his career as a head coach. He’s 70-45 in nine-plus seasons at Minnesota, and Saturday’s win put him above .500 in Big Ten play at 41-40. He said at his weekly news conference Monday that his general manager, Geritt Chernoff, made him sit down and watch a video. It consists of more than 100 former players sharing their experience having him as a head coach.
"That’s why I do the job. All these student-athletes are people first, and sooner or later you’re not going to win enough games. I still believe in the impact you make on their lives," Fleck said. "It’s a pretty long video, you go 100-plus different people talking about their experiences while playing for our culture, the moments and memories they had. They’re not talking about the wins, they’re talking about the moments and memories. I think that’s a really big deal."
What we don't know:
The Gophers head to Purdue Saturday, seeking their fourth straight win before a bye.
‘The ball is the program’
Why you should care:
Fleck has many sayings about how he runs a football program. One of them is, "the ball is the program." It’s applied to every snap when the Gophers have the ball. Watch a game, and after every play Minnesota has possession, the last player with the ball runs it to an official, and hands it to them personally.
For most other teams, players toss or flip the ball to an official as they drive down the field. It’s those little details that Fleck has built his program around.
"The ball is the program, I want to see it. That’s the fastest way for it to get set. The ball is everything, it’s so important they named the game after it. It’s a respect factor to the game," Fleck said.
Purdue next
What's next:
The Gophers go back on the road this week for another night Big Ten game, seeking their fourth straight win and a 3-0 start to league play. Minnesota is at Purdue, a more manageable 7 p.m. kickoff, as opposed to the 10 p.m. start two weeks ago at Washington.
The Boilermakers are 2-3 on the season. They had lost three straight to Wake Forest, UCLA and Notre Dame before getting a 24-17 win at Illinois. Saturday night’s game will air on Big Ten Network.