RE: Jerry Kill, "Fleck about himself"
Kill has had a beef with Minnesota's administration since Claeys was fired. Claeys was victimized by political correctness, after having done a pretty good job in his time as HC. Kill might have also sensed that Minnesota used the situation to oust Claeys, in order to get Fleck in. So there were likely some already established levels of angst towards Fleck, as I doubt Fleck consulted with Kill before he met with Minnesota. Then, after being hired, Fleck publicly criticizes the "culture" of the program. I understand why Kill would take some offense to that, but on the other hand there certainly had to be some underlying issues, as things weren't handled well prior to their bowl game that year. I suspect more of the criticism should have been directed towards the school, and players, rather than the coaches, but Fleck did not specifically disparage the coaches, but rather "the culture". Fleck bringing in his own guys, rather than keeping many of the coaches that were already on the Minnesota staff, and doing well, was probably stupid, but not too uncommon, and Kill is perhaps overly butt-hurt on that one.
Fleck is certainly a different breed, and I dont know that his message or mantra gets received as well in a generally more primadonna-like P5 "culture" )particularly after a solid and successful season before his arrival) than it did years before at WMU, where folks were more primed for significant change.
I would take Fleck back, or someone just like him, in and instant. He inspired players, administrators, coaches, boosters, fans, students, and all but a few who prematurely predicted (and rooted for) his failure as coach. He was able to use some basic leadership skills to get the entire organization to go all in, all the time, with consistent effort, with the same goals from start to finish, through the lean times and until achievement of those goals. We reached pinnacles never thought reachable on the field, and still had good character kids, and solid students, in the locker room. Was he narcissistic and ego driven? I think so. Are most successful college and pro football coaches? I think so.
I would bet everything I own that if Fleck and his coaches had coached WMU the last two years, both seasons would have been FAR FAR more successful. What made Fleck successful at WMU is lacking in Lester.
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2019 11:06 AM by brovol.)
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Jerry Kill, "Fleck about himself"
