
P.J. Fleck gave Minnesotans a glimpse on Friday as to why he's become such a polarizing figure in college football.
Fleck's high energy and ability to inspire were on display as he laid out his vision to change the culture of Gophers football and return the program to the glory days of the 1960s.
Western Michigan's rise to Mid-American Conference champions and a nationally ranked program were fueled by Fleck's unique personality and coaching style.
National media outlets followed him to Kalamazoo, Mich., to tell his story and his "Row the Boat" message has spread across America.
Here is what has been written about the Gophers new football coach during his rise to become the youngest coach in the Power Five conferences:
Sports Illustrated wrote Fleck might be a coach for the millennial generation:
Fleck, 34, is the youngest and most intriguing coach in college football. He looks different than most of his peers; his good looks and close-cropped hair give him a boy-band appearance, and he occasionally wears bow ties on the sideline. He sounds different when he uses a microphone at practice, exuding all the energy of an over-caffeinated aerobics instructor. Everything about what Fleck has done at Western Michigan feels different, as back-to-back top-ranked MAC recruiting classes (according to Rivals.com) have turned Kalamazoo into a trendy mid-major destination. … Is Fleck a flash in the pan or a glimpse of the future? No one is quite sure. Deadspin has mocked Fleck as the "Swaggiest Bro-Coach to Have Ever Swagged," and rivals have belittled his slogans and pointed out his lack of coordinator experience. But NFL scouts marvel at the crispness, pace and efficiency of Broncos practices and note that Western Michigan has more draft-caliber prospects than Michigan. Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Buzz Williams became so captivated by Fleck that he flew up to spend a day with him this spring.
Land of 10 wrote not even Jim Harbaugh beats the new Gophers coach on sizzle:
Of course he won the news conference. Putting a microphone in front of P.J. Fleck is like putting an easel in front of Picasso, a guitar in front of Hendrix. As a rallier of men and author of sound bites, Minnesota's newest football coach makes Winston Churchill look demure. Brick walls run through him. … Minnesota gets a star. The Big Ten gets a pulpit master, a mile-a-minute quote machine and a shot of caffeine injected into one of the sleepier way stations on the league map. Jim Harbaugh with less gravitas and more Red Bull. The short version of P.J. Fleck is that he comes off, at first blush, as Dr. Victor Frankenstein's attempt to graft Jim Tressel and Pat Fitzgerald into one coaching body. As the youngest head football coach at a Power Five program, he understands the power of social media, and the willingness to throw yourself in front of it, better than most.
ESPN wrote how it was Fleck's energy that had Western Michigan surging and how he was quickly checking off items on his bucket list:
Personal and career goals are split into two different categories on the list, with everything written in red marker. Check mark upon check mark has been scribbled in pen or pencil in all the years since, including next to the first objective under the career section: Be the youngest head coach in Division I-A. … The list shows he has seen the Washington monuments, spent a Christmas in New York and has taken his kids to Disney World. He has yet to learn how to ski or meet the President of the United States, although those both seem like much less of an achievement than the biggest stat that has driven his Broncos to their perfect start.