University of Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck, hired in January of 2017, has received numerous adjustments to his contract over the years and apparently is headed for another revision soon.
School president Dr. Rebecca Cunningham indicated that at a social club gathering in Naples, Florida recently. Minneapolis-based attorney, writer and historian Marshall Tanick reported via email to Sports Headliners what Cunningham and Fleck said at The Minnesota Breakfast club gathering, an organization in Southwest Florida that was started in 1964 by Minneapolis natives and draws prominent speakers during the winter months to its weekly programs.
Tanick wrote Cunningham “intimated that the school is about to extend Fleck’s contract” which now runs through 2030. Other details weren’t offered but a new extension falls in line with the support Fleck has received from athletics director Mark Coyle who hired him.
Coyle has frequently praised Fleck’s work at Minnesota, and he mentioned on local radio last fall the possibility of another revision to the coach’s contract which most recently was upgraded in July. The details of that agreement included increasing the amount of annual retention bonuses for remaining Minnesota’s coach. Also, part of the new agreement was a reduction in the amount owed to the U if Fleck were to leave the program by his own choice.
Fleck’s present deal pays him $6 million, plus escalating retention bonuses that started at $1 million in 2025 and go up each year. His $7million compensation last year ranked No. 12 in the 18 team Big Ten, per USA Today. He was tied for 31st best paid among all college football head coaches, according to data published annually by USA Today.
Fleck has frequently had his name linked to other coaching openings in college football. Although he has yet to win a division or conference championship at Minnesota, his record compares favorably with his predecessors. He is the fifth-longest tenured coach in program history and currently only Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has been at his school longer among Big Ten coaches.
Fleck’s career Big Ten record is 39-40 and having about a .500 winning percentage is the best among Gopher coaches since Murray Warmath coached his last season in 1971. He is 66-44 overall at Minnesota and has moved ahead of Glen Mason for fourth most wins ever by a Gopher coach. He’s led the Gophers to five seasons of eight or more wins. His winning percentage of .600 is third best among Gopher coaches who coached 40 games or more.
Last season the Gophers were 8-5 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten. Minnesota was 7-0 and undefeated at home for the first time since 1967. The Gophers won their seventh consecutive bowl game under Fleck when they defeated New Mexico in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix.
Tanick reported Fleck said the 2025 season was about what he expected and “pretty good.” He also said the team may be better next season with the “majority of the team” returning. He highlighted three of his most gifted returnees in quarterback Drake Lindsey, running back Darius Taylor and edge rusher Anthony Smith.
Tanick wrote that Fleck is excited about Beckham Sunderland, a placekicking transfer from Michigan and Texas State. Fleck described the senior as an “unreal kicker.” He played at Texas State for special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato, who recently was hired for that job at Minnesota.
Fleck and his staff have had success in retaining most of their best players in the recent past. The transfer portal has created a lot of annual change with rosters but Fleck told the Florida audience his program has lost only two key players dating back to 2022. Both ironically transferred to Oregon with running back Bucky Irving joining the Ducks in 2022 season and safety Koi Perich leaving last month.
Fleck dropped an interesting nugget when he said Perich will receive a $2 million compensation package to play his junior season at Oregon in what is expected to be his final year of college football. Perich is one of the nation’s best strong safeties and excels as a punt and kick returner.
Yet the Ducks may have overpaid for the Esko, Minnesota native. Safety is usually not a position where players are able to command $2 million. That level is more typical for quarterbacks and stud linemen, particularly pass rushers.
Fleck expressed confidence to his Naples audience about the players competing to replace Perich who was a 2024 freshman All-American. Speculation is a top candidate is junior Mekhai Smith, the transfer from Lehigh who Pro Football Focus graded as the top safety in the Patriot League last year.
With limited high school talent in the state to recruit, and challenged by Name, Image and Likeness funding below many programs in the Big Ten and other power conference teams, Fleck and the Gophers are a developmental program. That often dictates finding undervalued recruits and overseeing the progress of all players on the roster to improve and even exceed expectations.
With that status, the Gophers are often compared to Iowa, a program that consistently makes the most of its talent. The Hawkeyes are better at what they do than the Gophers, characterized by their lights out defenses and extraordinary special teams that include top tier returners, kickers and punters.
Fleck is 1-8 against Iowa and no doubt burns to get that second win this fall in Minneapolis when the Hawkeyes come to town. Fleck and Coyle also got the message that once lowly Indiana was able overnight to climb from the basement of college football to the penthouse.
Beat the Hawks, improve the overall Big Ten record and muscle into the college football playoffs soon, and Fleck will certainly be in line for another extension, his best yet!