Western Michigan Coach P.J. Fleck finally got his signature win this holiday weekend as he knocked off nationally ranked Toledo. Entering the contest, Fleck had not been on fleek versus the MAC’s big three. P.J. Fleck was 1-6 combined versus NIU, Toledo and Bowling Green.
This was his first signature win, and it did a solid for Fleck’s alma mater- NIU. The Broncos upset of Toledo gave the Huskies the backdoor into the MAC Title Game in Detroit Friday night. It also added some steak to the P.J. Fleck Coaching stock sizzle.
Fleck has hauled in consecutive recruiting classes ranked tops in the MAC, but he’s still only 16-20 overall in his career. WMU had the number two non-conference schedule, number 31 across the board in America, according to what Fleck said in his post game press conference at NIU.
As the youngest coach in the nation, and last year’s MAC Coach of the Year, he’s been deemed one of college football’s up-and-comers. Before Illinois removed the interim label from Bill Cubit’s title, P.J. Fleck was talked about a lot as candidate for Illinois. Cubit was Fleck’s predecessor at Illinois, and maybe that had something to do with why we kept hearing this narrative. Maybe we will again in 2017.
Fleck did a lot of house-cleaning when he took over for Cubit in 2013, and the result was a disastrous 1-11 season. Obviously things have been trending up since then, but Fleck doesn’t have a legitimate body of work to justify all the hype. A year from now that may change. Two years from now perhaps even more so.
On the flip side, I don’t think Phillip James Fleck is even looking to jump right now. Football Scoop even claims that WMU is working on extending him right now.
It really seems like he wants to stay and build in Kalamazoo right now. One of the main reasons he’s hyped up by the media so much is because he puts on such an INTENSE face for the CAMERAS most of the time. YELLING! HIGH ENERGY! I AM FOOTBALL COACH!
Take a listen to this segment from P.J. Fleck following his “homecoming” game at NIU:
“To get over the hump you got to do it, there’s a difference between knowing and doing. you got to do it, that’s the hardest part of football,” Fleck yelled.
“It’s still in the doing that matters.”
Some people go for this type of zeal. Others are turned off by it. Hence for every person who sees P.J. Fleck as the next big thing, you’re going to have someone who sees him as an overrated made-for-TV creation. Also, Fleck failed to honor some of Cubit’s commitments, and many see that as a red flag.
Here’s where the bowl projections have P.J. Fleck ‘s team slotted
Palm, CBS: Poinsettia Bowl
SB Nation: Independence
McMurphy, ESPN: Camelia Bowl,
Schlabach, ESPN: Bahamas Bowl
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous television and radio talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram