P.J. Fleck has set the Gophers standard, but can he take it to the next level?

In January of 2017, Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle made the most important decision in his tenure at Minnesota. He hired P.J. Fleck as Gophers football coach, replacing Tracy Claeys, who was fired after a 9-4 season that was successful on the field but marred by a sexual assault investigation, suspensions and subsequent players boycott.

“Nine wins is a good season, and the Holiday Bowl [win] was good, but we needed to shake the tree,” Coyle said while introducing Fleck as coach. “We needed to do something different.”

Consider the tree shaken and the program stirred.

In Fleck, the Gophers landed a 36-year-old bundle of energy who had just led Western Michigan to a 13-0 regular season and Cotton Bowl appearance. A former NFL wide receiver, Fleck arrived in Dinkytown with a mandate to change the program’s culture. “I’ve got news for everybody,” he declared. “Change has arrived.”

Eight years later, Fleck has built upon that change.

He will open his ninth season as Gophers coach on Thursday night against Buffalo at Huntington Bank Stadium, and suddenly he is the fifth-longest-tenured coach in program history. He has raised both the floor and the ceiling for the program, and with it, the expectations of fans starving for a Big Ten championship.

Fleck carries a 58-39 record into the opener, and his .598 win percentage trails only Henry L. Williams (.786) and Bernie Bierman (.727) among Gophers coaches. The Gophers under Fleck won a share of the Big Ten West Division title in 2019, going 11-2 with a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press and coaches polls, their best finish since 1962. Seven of Fleck’s Gophers have earned All-America honors.

When Coyle hired Fleck, changing the program’s culture was a priority. So was improving the team’s recruiting, and the amped-up, finely tailored Fleck and his slogans were a distinct change from Claeys, the then-48-year-old small-town Kansan who was understated in demeanor, dress and voice.

“Going from a personality like Tracy Claeys to someone like P.J. Fleck is about as stark of a difference as you can,” said Ryan Burns, publisher of recruiting-focused website GopherIllustrated.com. “P.J. certainly is someone that can resonate more with people that are 18 to 23 years old.”

Fleck’s recruiting strategy relies heavily on the early signing period. Typically, he collects the bulk of his verbal commitments by the summer before a recruit’s senior season, then works to cement the commitment over the next five months. Recruits know where they stand quickly with Fleck.

“The beauty of P.J. Fleck recruiting is you’re going to know within five minutes of talking to him whether you want to run through a wall or whether you want to run away,” Burns said.

Fleck acknowledges his brash style is not for everyone, and flashbacks to the personality of failed Gophers coach Tim Brewster entered some fans’ minds when Fleck was hired. There’s steak behind the sizzle, though, as the breakthrough 2019 season and nine-win campaigns in 2021 and ’22 attest.

“We’re doing things with players and producing NFL talent at a record level here, and we’re really proud of that,” said Fleck, who has had 19 players who finished their collegiate careers as Gophers selected in the NFL draft. “Not only that, we’re producing orthopedic surgeons and teachers and social workers, and that’s what I’m proudest of the most.”

Fleck accomplished a recruiting coup in 2018 when he landed wide receiver Rashod Bateman out of Tifton, Ga., despite late pressure from SEC powers Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Bateman blossomed into the Big Ten Receiver of the Year and a third-team All-American in 2019, then became a first-round NFL draft pick in 2021.

The Gophers also won key recruiting battles in the 2024 class.

They kept four-star safety Koi Perich of Esko, Minn., in state despite tremendous pressure from Ohio State. They landed Wisconsin’s top-ranked player, offensive lineman Nathan Roy. And at quarterback, they grabbed difference-making 2024 starter Max Brosmer from the transfer portal and 2025 starter Drake Lindsey from Fayetteville, Ark.

Fleck has carried that success forward.

The transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) payments have changed the landscape of college football over the past five years to the point that high school recruiting no longer is the overwhelming priority. Coaches must mine the transfer portal to fill immediate needs and must address player retention — basically re-recruiting current players so they won’t bolt for another program.

Following the 2021 season, Minnesota’s top two rushers — redshirt freshman Ky Thomas and true freshman Bucky Irving — left for Kansas and Oregon, respectively. Since those two got away, Fleck and his staff, with help from the Dinkytown Athletes collective, have kept stars such as Perich, running back Darius Taylor, offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and defensive end Anthony Smith from leaving for different opportunities or paydays.

“The proof is in the pudding, and when you look at the last two off seasons, Minnesota’s best players have stayed,” Burns said. “Anthony Smith talked about that at Big Ten media days. He was getting calls from people, and he could have left to get a lot more money elsewhere. Same with Koi Perich.”

The ability of Fleck and his staff to adapt to the changing times has helped the Gophers avoid prolonged dips. They responded to the 3-4 finish in 2020 with 9-4 records the next two years. After a 6-7 record in 2023, they rebounded to go 8-5 last year. Fleck credits his staff and players but sees personal improvement, too.