I saw an ESPN segment dedicated to coach Fleck and he (I hate to say it but…) reminds me of CTH’s energy and ability to relate to his players. He’s obviously a winner and deserves a look…
My apologies if his name has already been floated!
GO COOGS!!!
EDIT: Here’s a excerpt from Wikipedia…
Fleck made sports headlines after his hire with his charisma and attempts to energize to the WMU program, including dancing (The Harlem Shake), posting YouTube videos, adding an in-stadium DJ for games, and establishing a program-wide mantra of “rowing the boat”. Fleck participated in a polar bear plunge held at Goldsworth Pond on the Western Michigan campus. The event raised funds for the Michigan Special Olympics, and led Holly Anderson of Sports Illustrated to proclaim Fleck as “the best new hire” for 2013, if only for generating interest in the program.[18][19]
I think PJ Fleck is a great coach, but experience recruiting in Texas is essential to being successful here. As great as he is, he is not a good fit for Houston. His next move IMO will be Big 10.
I’m still up in the air about this. Obviously he doesn’t have much if any experience recruiting here, but I would think that can easily be fixed by (1) hiring assistants who do have such experience, and (2) making it his #1 priority when he gets here to immediately set up meetings with every local high school coach in the area, starting with the local powerhouses (Manvel, Pearland, Westfield, Katy, North Shore, Lamar, Bellaire). If he’s as dynamic and energetic as people say, I wouldn’t think it would take long to endear himself to area HS coaches and athletes.
Entirely possible, but I’m not sure “easily fixed” is a word I would use to describe that scenario. First, HCs like to have “their guys” with them. Look at how many of our coaches TH is taking with him to Texas. Trusting your staff is vital, and it would surprise me if a guy like Fleck, who’s basically spent his entire career up north, has very many coaches in his network who have spent time in Texas. Secondly, going into the local schools is great, but it takes YEARS to develop relationships with high school coaches. Tom spent 16 years building those relationships prior to getting to Houston. Sumlin was in the state for 7 years prior to his stint here, CAB had 24 years experience in Texas. These things take time.
PJ is a Midwest guy. Played in the Midwest, coached in the Midwest with a small stint in the Big East and the Bucs.
He has a gimmick that works for Western and could work at Purdue. Not sure PJ would want to move to Houston - not because the job isn’t a good one, but he’s been making his way through the Big Ten farm league circuit for years (MAC).
Purdue is a place he could win, in a winnable division and with Purdue finally using some of their tens of millions of TV revenue to build facilities - all signs point to PJ going to West Lafayette.
I believe that there will be big name p5 schools that come after Fleck. I bet he will be considered at Oregon. I think he is the young, energetic coach a good p5 will take a chance on. Don’t get me wrong, I think we are a better job than many p5 schools. I just think he will have bigger opportunities, at least in his mind.
Fleck is AWESOME. But you guys have it correct, the only knock on him is his region. Seems like he would want to stay in the area he knows. He’d be starting from scratch here.
You are correct on Purdue. I heard from very good sources that he is Purdue bound. The only delay is his team playing this weekend. They go undefeated and they play at Jerry’s World. More than likely he will be named Purdue new Coach on Monday or by next week/mid-week.
Yeah, that’s what most in the know here in the Midwest have been saying too. Fleck to Purdue seems to be a forgone conclusion. One outside dark horse could be Minnesota.