The UCLA football coaching job suddenly came open Friday, and several national writers named Gophers coach P.J. Fleck as a potential candidate to fill it.
Gophers’ P.J. Fleck listed as potential candidate to replace Chip Kelly at UCLA
Chip Kelly left UCLA to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. National writers quickly speculated Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck could be a UCLA candidate.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 10, 2024 at 1:33AM
Chip Kelly resigned at UCLA on Friday to take the Ohio State offensive coordinator job. That created an opening in Westwood, and Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, Bruce Feldman of the Athletic and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN speculated that Fleck could be a potential replacement.
A source told the Star Tribune on Friday that he “heard the rumor” and hadn’t heard anything else regarding Fleck and the UCLA job. Fleck and Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle could not be reached for comment.
According to Feldman, UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond told the team on Friday that it would have a new coach within 96 hours.
Feldman’s report listed Fleck among the potential candidates along with former Stanford coach David Shaw, Las Vegas Raiders running backs coach DeShaun Foster, UCLA defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe, Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford, Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White and USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
In seven seasons with the Gophers, Fleck has produced a 50-34 overall record and 29-32 in Big Ten play. He is 5-0 in bowl games with Minnesota. Fleck’s contract, signed in December of 2022, averages $6 million per year and runs through the 2029 season. Fleck will owe the university a $7 million buyout in 2024 if he leaves for another job.
In November, Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle emphatically backed Fleck.
“We have everything in place at Minnesota,” Coyle said during a KFXN Radio interview. “I am absolutely convinced P.J. is the right guy. Nobody wants to win more than he does.”
Under Fleck, the Gophers had a breakthrough season in 2019, when they went 11-2, beat Auburn in the Outback Bowl and finished No. 10 in both the final Associated Press and coaches’ polls. It was the program’s best finish since the 1962 team finished 10th in the final AP poll, and Fleck earned Big Ten coach of the year honors.
After a 3-4 record in a 2020 season shortened by COVID-19, the Gophers produced back-to-back 9-4 campaigns. In 2023, they went 5-7 in the regular season, losing their final four games, but received an invitation to the Quick Lane Bowl because of their Academic Progress Rating. They beat Bowling Green in Detroit to finish 6-7.
Projected Gophers starting center Frank Mitchell will miss Wednesday night's opener against Oral Roberts because of a shoulder injury and will be reevaluated next week.
