Gopher Fans Split On Fleck, But Pledge Support To 'U'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Forty-eight hours after firing their head football coach, the University of Minnesota has named a new team leader.

But not all fans are welcoming coach P.J. Fleck with open arms.

Not because of who he is, but because of the history of problems within the program.

Supporters of Gopher football have mixed feelings about the new coach.

While most say they feel the team needs to go in a new direction, there are those who feel the way things unfolded and have unfolded for years is not good.

You will find lots of different opinions about Gopher football inside a sports bar.

During the lunch rush at Bunny's in St. Louis Park, there were lots of Minnesota alumni willing to weigh in on the football team's new head coach.

"It's breathing some fresh air into a really unfortunate situation," Mark Jessen, class of 1985, said.

Jessen is a huge supporter of the University of Minnesota. He says the hiring of Fleck should be seen as a positive for players, the program and the university.

"It's exciting to be looking forward, bringing in someone new who can hopefully instill in our football program some of the values that reflect better the University of Minnesota," Jessen said.

But there are some alumni who say they are disappointed with how things at the university have been handled for years.

"They've had, what, four athletic directors and four football coaches in 10 years? Something is wrong, and I think it's at the top, personally. I think things are not being handled right. I'm disappointed that they let Tracy Claeys go the way they did," Mike Lewis said.

Lewis and Jessen said even though they don't share the same love for the administration, they do agree their support is for the university, and no matter what they will continue their support of the school and its athletic program.

Some Gophers fans are happy -- they believe the hiring of Fleck is a move in the right direction. Others aren't so sure the administration has done right by the players and coaches of Gopher football.

"The administration over there keeps scrambling by the seat of their pants to try to get things right and for so many years they keep getting things wrong," Gregg Wong said.

Wong has been very vocal about his disappointment with the administration at the U. He believes the hiring of Fleck and the firing of Claeys was something that was in Athletic Director Mark Coyle's playbook.

"Coyle wanted his own guy. I'm not saying -- I have nothing against Fleck, I don't know him, I just know what I read about him and he might be the answer," Wong said. "But they thought Glenn Mason would be the answer, they thought that Jim Brewster would be the answer. The best coach they've had over there in recent years has been Jerry Kill."

Now that Fleck is the Gophers' new head football coach, some alumni say it's time to put aside disagreements.

"It's our school. This is our state school. It's not like the Vikings that can move somewhere else. They'll always be our football team, they'll always represent Minnesota and we have to support them," Jessen said.

Mark Jessen's dad sent all four of his children to the U. He says his support of the university is unwavering and he hopes others follow suit.

"It's there for a purpose of education, and their athletics is part of that education and we go with the good and the bad," Lee Jessen said.

Many season ticket holders told WCCO they will continue to support the Gophers. They say their support is not all about football, its about support of the university.