PJ Fleck
Head Coach, Minnesota
AGE: 42
HOMETOWN: Sugar Grove, IL
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s, Northern Illinois University (2004)
FAMILY: Wife, Heather; and Children, Gavin, Carter, Paisley, and Harper
Career Highlights
- Overall Record: 80-56
- Minnesota Record: 50-34
- 1 of 11 active head coaches to lead 2 different programs to a NY6 Bowl
Minnesota
- 5-0 in bowl games, which is the most bowl wins by a single coach in school history
- 1 of 3 programs to have 5 bowl wins in the last 6 years (Alabama and Georgia)
- The only 2 times College GameDay has come to Minnesota have been during Fleck’s tenure (2019 & 2020)
- 1 of 2 coaches in Minnesota history to record at least 9 wins in a season 3 times
- In 2019, the Gophers 11 win season was the most for the program since 1904
- Ascended to #7 in the AP Poll which was the school’s highest ranking since 1962
- First Minnesota head coach to win at least 6 conference games more than once since 1967
- Led the Gophers to their 1st NY6 bowl game win since 1962
- Minnesota’s win over Penn State in 2019 was the program’s first win against a top 5 team since 1999 and first home win against a top 5 team since 1977
- Coached 5 All-Americans, 9 Academic All-Americans, 76 All-Big Ten honorees (8 First Team) and 327 Academic All-Big Ten performers
Accolades
- Big Ten Coach of the Year (2019)
- AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year (2019)
- George Munger Award Finalist (2019, 2016)
- Dodd Trophy Finalist (2019)
- Eddie Robinson Award Finalist (2019, 2016)
- Bear Bryant Award Finalist (2019)
- AFCA National Coach of the Year Finalist (2019)
- MAC Coach of the Year (2016, 2014)
- FBS Region 3 Coach of the Year (2016)
Player Development
Minnesota (Head Coach)
- John Michael Schmitz – New York Giants C
- Drafted Round 2, Pick 57
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Jordan Howden – New Orleans Saints S
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 146
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Terell Smith – Chicago Bears CB
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 165
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Boye Mafe – Seattle Seahawks DL
- Drafted Round 2, Pick 40
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Daniel Faalele – Baltimore Ravens OL
- Drafted Round 4, Pick 110
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Esezi Otomewo – Minnesota Vikings DL
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 165
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Ko Kieft – Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE
- Drafted Round 6, Pick 218
- Coached at Minnesota ’22
- Rashod Bateman – Baltimore Ravens WR
- Drafted Round 1, Pick 27
- Coached at Minnesota ’21
- Benjamin St-Juste – Washington Commanders DB
- Drafted Round 3, Pick 74
- Coached at Minnesota ’21
- Antoine Winfield Jr – Tampa Bay Buccaneers DB
- Drafted Round 2, Pick 45
- Coached at Minnesota ’20
- Tyler Johnson – Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 161
- Coached at Minnesota ’20
- Kamal Martin – Green Bay Packers LB
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 175
- Coached at Minnesota ’20
- Carter Coughlin – New York Giants LB
- Drafted Round 7, Pick 218
- Coached at Minnesota ’20
- Chris Williamson – New York Giants DB
- Drafted Round 7, Pick 247
- Coached at Minnesota ’20
- Blake Cashman – New York Jets LB
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 157
- Coached at Minnesota ’19
Western Michigan
- Led the program to their first MAC Championship since 1988
- Most wins in a single season in program history (13)
- Only coach to lead a MAC school to a NY6 Bowl game
- 3 Bowl game appearances in 4 seasons
- Coached the program’s first ever Consensus All-American in Corey Davis
- Led the school to their first ever Top 25 ranking
Western Michigan (Head Coach)
- Chukwuma Okorafor – Pittsburgh Steelers OT
- Drafted Round 3, Pick 92
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘18
- Darius Phillips – Cincinnati Bengals DB
- Drafted Round 5, Pick 170
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘18
- Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans WR
- Drafted Round 1, Pick 5
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘17
- Taylor Moton – Carolina Panthers OT
- Drafted Round 2, Pick 64
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘17
- Keion Adams – Pittsburgh Steelers LB
- Drafted Round 7, Pick 248
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘17
- Willie Beavers – Minnesota Vikings OT
- Drafted Round 4, Pick 121
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘16
- Daniel Braverman – Chicago Bears WR
- Drafted Round 7, Pick 230
- Coached at Western Michigan ‘16
Rutgers (Receivers Coach)
- Mohamed Sanu – Cincinnati Bengals WR
- Drafted Round 3, Pick 83
- Coached at Rutgers ‘12
Experience
2017 – Present: Minnesota (Head Coach)
2013 – 2017: Western Michigan (Head Coach)
2012: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Wide Receivers Coach)
2010 – 2011: Rutgers (Wide Receivers Coach)
2009: Northern Illinois (Recruiting Coordinator, Wide Receivers Coach)
2007 – 2008: Northern Illinois (Wide Receivers Coach)
2006: Ohio State (Graduate Assistant)
Bio
“Row the Boat” is not just a slogan for PJ Fleck, it is the foundation for his never give up attitude and approach to life and work. Coach Fleck joined the Minnesota program after leading the Western Michigan Broncos to a 30-22 record overall and 21-11 record in the Mid-American Conference over four years. During his time at WMU, Fleck authored one of the most memorable turnarounds in college football history, bringing the Broncos from a 1-11 record to a Top 25 finish for the first time in team history. The Broncos ended the season with a No. 72 ranking, a 13-1 record, a conference championship and a trip to the Cotton Bowl. At Minnesota, Fleck has already become one of only two Gopher coaches to record nine or more wins in a season twice, as Minnesota posted 11 wins in 2019 and nine in 2021. The 11 wins in 2019 were the most for a Minnesota team since 1904 season where the Gophers went 13-0. Fleck has led the Gophers to four bowl game wins and has had twelve players selected in the NFL Draft while at Minnesota.
On and off the field, Coach Fleck is determined to uplift the character of his players. Fleck has had 12 players become NFL Draft picks at Minnesota and 7 at Western Michigan, leading to a total of 19 NFL Draft picks in his head coaching career. At Minnesota, Fleck and his team can often be found supporting the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, hosting an annual diaper drive during training camp, and a turkey drive during Thanksgiving to give back to the community. Minnesota has also hosted a canned food drive and school supplies drive under Fleck. In the classroom, Minnesota has posted program record GPAs under Fleck. Under Fleck Western Michigan had a program-record seven student-athletes named to the 2016 MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete team and the Bronco team posted a 3.14 program GPA in Fleck’s last semester at the school.
Fleck has proven himself to be a great asset when it comes to team development. Under Coach Fleck’s guidance, the WMU Broncos went from ranked 112th nationally in rushing offense, 83rd in passing offense, and 116th in scoring offense to ranked 24th in rushing offense, 49th in passing offense, and 9th in scoring offense in just three years. Fleck was then able to replicate his success at Minnesota, reviving an offense that was 109th in scoring offense in 2017 and bringing them to 21st in scoring offense in 2019. In that same 2019 season, Fleck led the Gophers to an 11-2 record and a win in the Outback Bowl. Most recently in the 2021-2022 season Minnesota went 9-4 and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl through the consistent implementation of Fleck’s winning design. With a record of 23-10 from 2019-2021, Fleck has led the Gophers to the most wins over a three year stretch since 1903.
Reputation
“P.J. Fleck is a fantastic football coach. He has turned around two major college programs in historic fashion.” He added, “I think Coach Fleck has done a great job of getting the Minnesota program going.”
Tony Dungy
Super Bowl XLI Champion as Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Pro Football Hall of Famer
“P.J. Fleck has a passion in ALL that he does, and his results on and off the field are extraordinary. You could see the fire in his eyes when he was a 22/23 year-old that he wanted to make a difference in the lives of young people. You could tell his tenacity, his passion and willingness to do whatever it took to learn and he is always willing to keep rowing the boat. PJ’s primary intention is to help his players grow, he’s driven to win, but at the end of the day the impact he has on his players will outlive any win-loss record.”
Jim Tressel
3-time AFCA Coach of the Year, 2002 National Championship Head Coach and Current President of Youngstown State University
