Anonymous Big Ten coach feels P.J. Fleck could be 'on the hunt' to leave Minnesota with a nine-win season

Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck is headed into his ninth season as head coach, where he boasts a 56-39 (33-36) record with an immaculate 6-0 record in Bowl Games. An anonymous Big Ten head coach however believes that Fleck, with a nine-win season, may be looking for a change of scenery in Athlon Sports’ 2025 College Football Preview.
“It’s no secret Fleck wants to be at a high-end, title-contending program,” the coach said. “This doesn’t look like a ’19 season on paper, but if they win nine games or so, he’ll be on the hunt to move.”
Minnesota is just Fleck’s second head coaching job, as he made the jump from Western Michigan following the 2017 season. Prior to that, he was the wide receivers coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012), Rutgers (2010-11) and Northern Illinois (2007-09).
2019 was a dream season for Minnesota in Fleck’s third season as coach, as the Gophers finished with an 11-2 record and a win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. That season, Minnesota even downed traditional Big Ten powers in Nebraska and Penn State in regular season play. Since then however, the program has not quite reached those heights again.
“P.J. [Fleck] has built a consistent winner even though it’s not at an elite level,” another coach said. “So the good news is the bad news, depending on your expectations, because it is more of the same.”
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Last season, Minnesota posted a respectable 8-5 record with a win over Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. However, it has finished ranked inside the top 25 rankings in just one of Fleck’s eight seasons (2019).
In continuing to build up the program, Fleck and Minnesota have brought in the No. 38 ranked transfer class and the No. 51 ranked recruiting class. A few of their key returning players for this season include running back Darius Taylor (986 rush yards, 10 touchdowns) and linebacker Maverick Baranowski (65 tackles and one sack).
It will be tough for the Golden Gophers to get back to nine wins this season, as it boasts one of the most challenging schedules in college football. Minnesota is scheduled to play road games at Ohio State, Oregon and Iowa with a home game against Wisconsin. With another bowl win however, it would stretch its NCAA-best bowl win streak to seven games.
They open the 2025 season on August 28 at home against Buffalo.