An in-depth report from Front Office Sports, which says it interviewed “several” former Minnesota Golden Gophers, casts questions about the culture of head coach P.J. Fleck’s Minnesota football program.
The school’s athletics director, Mark Coyle, fully backed Fleck in a statement to the media outlet.
“P.J. and our program are unique. They put themselves out there in new and different ways – but always in a first-class manner,” read Coyle’s statement, “and after nearly seven years, it is clear to me that is what makes P.J. and our program so successful.”
Coyle then added this blanket comment: “I always encourage all of our student-athletes, including every member of our football team, to reach out to me directly if they encounter any issues. To date, I have not heard from a single football student-athlete about the allegations raised.”
Those allegations, per the FOS report, included preferential treatments for players who “deposited coins in the ‘Fleck Bank.’” Those former players who spoke to the outlet and were granted anonymity said that a player’s ability to accumulate enough “Fleck coins” from acts such as community service and praying with the head coach could ultimately help an individual avoid suspension for a failed drug test.
While the article indicated the outlet had gotten confirmation of the unofficial policy of players coin-banking their way out of ramifications for a failed drug test, Minnesota again refuted those claims in a statement that read, in part, “(the) drug testing policy is applied equitably and universally across all (athletics) programs and any implication otherwise is false.”
The article said the ex-players who served as sources for the investigation had played for Fleck at Minnesota from his first season in 2017 through the 2021 season; it also said some of the players interviewed were former starters.
Fleck’s culture – his ‘Row The Boat’ mantra has been emblazoned on helmets, hallways and countless other items first at Western Michigan and now at Minnesota – has been an element that the fiery coach has pointed to as an foundational component of his success at both programs.
And Fleck has leaned into that culture component in coaching clinics, touting elements such as “the pain of discipline vs. the pain of regret” and “Roof over your head – better off than 73% of the world.”
Noted for his adamant stance that players in his program match his frenetic energy, Fleck, per the report, was to be greeted by his players clapping in unison when the head coach entered the locker room. The former players said strength coach Dan Nichol drilled them on how to effectively clap when Fleck entered the locker room.
One player who spoke on the record to FOS in defense of Fleck, Coney Durr, acknowledged the program was not for everyone but that it abided the rules.
“We always did things by the book,” said Durr, a Baton Rouge, La., native who lettered four years at Minnesota and also served as a team captain. “I was on a leadership council, and I was a captain.
“It’s a great program, and I highly recommend it to people who want to improve their life – on and off the field.”
The full FOS report, which delves into scandals that predate Fleck's arrival at Minnesota and in other Gophers' athletics programs, also includes comments from a former board member and an examination into allegations of student-athletes being punished with punitive workouts and whether or not players were rushed back prematurely from injury. The U.S. Council for Athletes' Health report which was first obtained by FOS noted that "Minnesota's athletic medicine team members -- athletic trainers and team physicians -- clearly articulated that they are provided the opportunity to perform independently and autonomously as they provide medical care for the student-athletes."