Minnesota Head Coach PJ Fleck Joins Dirt & Sprague From Big Ten Media Days

Big 10 media days on the fan brought to you in part by mods PDX the future of building is here and we're going live to Indianapolis uh to talk to our good friend PJ Fleck a good friend of the show PJ good morning how you doing coach I'm doing Elite how are you doing you're doing Elite wow oh my God we've been saying that for 12 years though guys so you know 12 years can I ask you I I I know you've shared the answer to this but I I I'm curious when did Row the bat start when did it click for you that catchphrase row the boat yeah uh I take it back to February 9th 2011 my second son died of a heart condition and you know when you walk into a children's hospital and you know that when you come back out you're not going to have your child the people in that hospital like change your entire life they they do people always like why are you so positive why you have so much energy I mean when when you see the worst day of your life and you know nothing can get worse than that like you you spend your time very differently and you think differently and you act differently and you talk differently and so and on that day I said I'm I wasn't a head coach yet I was at ruers with Greg shano at the time M but I started to create something that was I was going to be able to connect a community based on you know my son's life who who couldn't live his own life so I was going to live it for him and I was going to make sure when I became a head coach I could engulf myself in the community everybody has something that they need to connect bigger than football and and that's where Ro the boat was created and then I became a head coach at Western Michigan and kind of unveiled it and went one and 11 and everybody at the end of the year is like okay this roll the boat thing didn't work coach this never give up Mantra this everybody roll in the right direction same direction just didn't work what's next mow the grass like what is it and uh we just that's what road the boat was all about so basically just means never give up this is Minnesota head coach PJ fle that's a great story I never coach heard that one and so I I appreciate you sharing that with us I I I've been reading this Bill Walsh book and there's a blurb in the book he just reminded me of it where he's flying back they just lost to the Dolphins it's his second season he thinks he has everything set up right they lose they drop to like six games under 500 he's contemplating quitting on the flight back home because he thinks he is a failure where did the 1 and11 start rowing the boat being at Western Michigan you think you're ready you go one and 11 what did that do with your confidence did you contemplate stuff and did you battle out of it or did you never question anything I I think when you say I never questioned anything I think that's a complete lie I think everybody always question we're human beings we're built that way when things don't go well but I think it just tests your fortitude uh you know but it goes back to my upbringing I mean I was always the underdog I was always the king of the twos to Too Young Too Short too slow we have no I had no Connections in this profession uh I played at Northern Illinois I played for the Niners nobody ever thought that I'd make it I was ranked 14 out of 14 when I got there on the depth chart they spelled my name wrong it was Flack on my locker not Fleck and I'm like this is not going to last long I ended up being there two and a half years and the reason I wear a tie on the sidelines CU Mike Nolan uh who wore a coat and tie who's an Oregon Duck um thought I'd be a great head coach and a great coach period And so offered me a coaching job and like an idiot I didn't take it instead Jim Trestle called me and offered me a ga job and so I had to contemplate both of those and went out to Ohio State and started my career with Ohio State and Jim Trestle and so the people that changed my life and got me into coaching uh wore a tie so but I've always been that Underdog and uh always been that King of the twos and and that's that's a good spot to be because you know you're going to go through some really really tough times and some rocky Waters and just got to keep rowing that boat and uh but after that one and 11 not only that I was divorced so it was a one in 11 year I was divorced like it was everything in my life was like okay you're not good at anything um but that's what R the boat was all about and uh the next year we start one in I think one and four and we're down 20 points at halftime I think I'm getting fired right when I get done with that game we come back from 20 points down and win seven straight and the rest is history so I mean it's you we were talking about that at dinner you either get to that point where you can flip it or you get fired and there's one or the other every coach gets there PJ you are clearly uh an excellent motivator I'm ready to run through a brick wall right now and it's 650 here on the West Coast uh when you're going out and you're recruiting are you looking for guys that are uh high energy guys like yourself or what recruits are you looking for are you looking for guys who have that extra chip on your shoulder what are you pitching them to get them to go be a gopher in Minnesota yeah I I think there's a misconception that players have to fit personality of the head coach none of my players have the exact same personality as me or each other personality is like a fingerprint uh but you have to have the same inner drive to be your best not the best that's subjective we could argue all day long who the greatest duck of all time is we could argue who the the greatest former Portland Trailblazer was like we we could do all that uh till our our face is blue but I'm all about fit I am not for everybody neither is Dan Lanning we we're no head coaches for everybody but fit is more important in 2024 than ever and we still get to select these kids they get to select us and it's it's more valuable than it's ever been of getting the right people inside our culture and I'm looking for people that want to prove to themselves that they are their best every day and they're exactly who they say they are and um we've had a pretty good run of 12 years and now going on8 years here at Minnesota uh finding those right right kids PJ Fleck head coach of the Minnesota Gophers joining us live from Big 10 media day I I'm curious you are going into year eight you've got a you got some transfers coming in one of which a quarterback that I think a lot of people are hopeful for uh to turn the passing game around what have you learned in the nil space like when nil becomes a thing and I know it's just been a couple years but talk about learning on the Fly what have you learned about yourself how to do it at Minnesota and how you handle portal High School recruiting development keeping guys like you're kind of recruiting both things other players your own players all of it what have you learned well that that's a great question because there's a lot of things I've learned one I've learned it is okay to love where you're at I love Minnesota I mean we're moving into a house that's taking us two and a half years to build and uh we love who we work for we love where we're at because they allow me to be me think about that statement my boss allows me to be myself I think there's a lot of people who have to act like a head coach uh act like the head coach uh do things that maybe are outside of what and who they are um and and the big word I keep using is is is value you're finding out what you really value as a coach with all the nil portal Collective conference realignment TV deals salary caps that's fine that's the transactional piece now of college football but that doesn't mean I have to be a transactional head coach I can still be a transformational educator Mentor teacher Life program that we've always ran and have that transactional and transformational relationship coexist and I think that's what I've learned the most is people like in the NFL say oh you can't create a culture you you can't become close to the players some of my greatest coaches were I played for them in the NFL or when I coached in the NFL for the Buccaneers are still those relationships with those players I think that's a myth I I I think it takes a lot of work to build relationships and uh you can still do it in 2024 and I think that's what I've learned the most is we just had the best recruiting class that we've ever had and it isn't because we had the highest nil budget I promise you that uh and it's just it's Unique to see that that we can still coexist with that transformational and now this transactional piece well it's a new conference for a lot of us out here at at West and at big media day but you're very familiar year eight PJ Fleck head coach of Minnesota coach I was out there a couple years ago I saw the stadium it's a beautiful setup that you guys have out there thank you for hopping on with us here in Portland man really good stuff we really appreciate your energy the sharing of stories from you know your lowest points to your highest points uh thank you for being a lead on the radio program we we appreciate it yeah lastly just want to say your head coach is unbelievable uh Dan is such a great man I've had a great chance to get around him and Sophia my wife Heather and I have and he's a special individual that that gets it in all levels and uh you know he you guys are obviously you already know you're in good hands but he he's such a special individual and a special coach and uh look forward to playing you I hope it's in late November in Minnesota when we do though absolutely thanks coach fa enough all right there we go there is PJ Fleck live from Indianapolis uh Big 10 media day gotta be honest learned quite a bit there some of which I don't think I was ready for but man he hit it with like a 20 2002 Ryan rillo like worst year of my life and then I turned it all around P I might be a fan of PJ F that was awesome I think he made me kind of a go for fan I'm rooting for PJ F it's funny we mentioned Mike Nolan with the shirt and tie I I I was under the impression going into the show today we wouldn't have a guest in the 6 a.m. hour and then it was like hey you're getting PJ fck and I'm like okay and it's just funny we mentioned Nolan because he actually had a relationship with Mike Nolan and so it's kind of an homage to Jim Trestle to Mike Nolan the other part of that is it's it's an interesting career these guys choose to be coaches it's a the that life is not easy to hop on and tell us I'm doing Elite and then follow that up with like my kid died and I was divorced and I'm awful my first year coaching it's like well that that's not normally how those chain of events are said no but that was fantastic stuff from PJ Fleck I'll tell you right now I'm going to try be elite in this commercial break I'm going to do some push-ups I might do some squats I'm a PJ flat guy now that was awesome that's a strong willed man no like that's almost like the Dan Campbell feeling that I got after hearing him speak the few times Well I looked at Minnesota's football reference so last year they went to six and seven because they lost their bow game six- six last year somewhat disappointing for some gopher fans year before that 9 and4 9 and4 he had 11-2 season in there like they win he was five and seven and five and seven and then yeah three and four Co year but like really he's only had one subpar season he's done pretty well well I see why he's getting good recruits I mean just from the from their level yes for them yeah right like there's a certain cap on it and we all know that I mean if you're an Oregon state Washington state an Arizona fan you know that there's a cap that you have and Minnesota clearly has that cap but when you have a coach that can go in into living rooms and fire people up he was on this program for what 6 seven minutes something like that in that time completely reverse course on him I thought he was a little bit corny I thought the message was a little bit funny that's the perception yeah now I'm buying right in and if you can do that in six seven minutes with us not even looking Us in the eye coming to our house I see why they're getting those recruits I see why they're getting those guys with that chip on their shoulder that develop it's very similar obviously a different style but back in the early 2000s that's what Mike Riley did at Oregon State obviously he's not rowing in the boat he was much more Cal and uh a different style of message that he got across to his recruits but they always ended up outperforming what they were and it seems like aside from a year or two Minnesota has been able to do that with PJ flly almost smack dab in the middle of the conference in recruiting they're better than Illinois Iowa Northwestern Purdue Michigan State UCLA and Indiana so there's PJ J Fleck rowing the boat here on the fan