Minnesota Football: P.J. Fleck named Big Ten Coach of the Year

Big Ten coaches have selected P.J. Fleck as their choice for the Big Ten’s Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year. Fleck was honored with the award after leading the Minnesota Golden Gophers to their first 10-win regular season since 1905.

In his third year at the helm, Fleck led the Gophers to their first 9-0 start since 1904, culminating in a 31-26 upset of then No. 4-ranked Penn State. Minnesota was ranked as high as No. 8 at one point by the College Football Playoff selection committee, but stumbled in the final three weeks of the season with losses to Iowa and Wisconsin. The Gophers finished the regular season tied for first in the Big Ten West but lost the tiebreaker to the Badgers, who will face top-ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Fleck agreed to a new contract back in November that raised his base annual salary to $4.6 million and extended his stay in Minneapolis through 2026.