The 2016 season started off with a bang for PJ Fleck and Western Michigan with a 22-21 win over Northwestern on the road. They followed that up with wins against North Carolina Central, another Big Ten team in Illinois, and then went on to beat Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, and Northern Illinois.
Winning in the MAC typically opens the door of opportunity to bigger jobs in a Power Five league, and stacking up MAC wins have launched the careers of guys like Gary Pinkel and Nick Saban, and more recently guys like Matt Campbell, Darrell Hazell and Dave Doeren.
Sitting at 6-0, and having led the Broncos to their first AP top 25 ranking in school history just a few years removed from going 1-11 in his first season, PJ Fleck's name has continued to circulate as a hot name for open jobs, and jobs that may - or may not - come open in the coming months.
But Fleck shared the Lee Corso equivalent of a "not so fast my friend" in a piece published by The Detroit News.
“I’m 20-21 as a head coach. A lot of those guys that get a chance to move on were way above .500.”
“I’m able to see my children all the time. Sometimes, the grass isn’t greener on the other side. I’ve been miserable in my life before and that’s not a fun experience. I have a very joyful life, an incredible staff and players around me, and an administration that allows P.J. Fleck to be P.J. Fleck. That’s priceless.”
Fleck isn't saying that a unique opportunity sure to catch his interest won't present itself in the coming months, but he does maintain that there is plenty left to accomplish in Kalamazoo for him and his staff.
“No coach can guarantee that they will be in one place forever, but we do have a lot of unfinished business here. We have turned this thing around and done it the right way, our way. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Remaining on Western Michigan's schedule for 2016 are Akron, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Kent State, Buffalo, and Toledo before the MAC Championship game is slated to be played December 2nd.
Head over to The Detroit News for the full piece, including more reasons Fleck loves what he has in west Michigan.