From Fleck Bank to the blood smear: P.J. Fleck's weirdest Gophers moments

Fleck has been at Minnesota for 10 years, so many people have become familiar with his “Row The Boat” culture, but not every head coach in the country brings an entire brand with them to a new job. Phrases like “H.Y.P.R.R.” (How, Your Vision, Process, Result, Response), Nektons of the Week, changing your best, and many more have become normalized around the Gophers program, but it’s still a very unique way of doing things.

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Again, it’s been a decade since Fleck was introduced as Minnesota’s head coach, but Dan Campbell might’ve taken inspiration from Fleck before his famous Lions press conference began with talk about biting kneecaps. Fleck’s introductory presser featured famous lines such as “I eat difficult conversations for breakfast” and having a crack on his shoulder instead of a chip. College football head coaches have been having weird press conferences forever, and Fleck’s certainly set the tone for an interesting tenure.

After Minnesota’s upset win over No. 11 USC in 2024, Fleck revealed how he motivated the team leading into the week. The Gophers lost at Michigan in controversial fashion the week prior, and Fleck opted to give his team an “antidote of confidence.” In a literal fashion, each player was given a capsule, later revealed to be Sprite, in hopes of improving team morale before the week, and it clearly worked.

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The capsule was just one of many quirky motivational tactics that Fleck has used during his time at Minnesota. Dating back to Western Michigan, he has used a baseball bat with donuts to signify specific wins in a given season. He has referenced “being a goldfish” and having a short memory, which was popularized by the TV show Ted Lasso. He has introduced Latin terms like e pluribus unum, and many more. College football coaches across the country all have their own motivational tactics, and Fleck’s are certainly unique.

There was an article in 2023 from Front Office Sports that can probably be best described as a hit piece, but it gave us a deeper look into how Fleck runs his program. A system called the “Fleck Bank” was referenced multiple times as a way for players to gain points for things like visiting patients at the University of Minnesota Medical Center or studying. It was also revealed that players said they had to applaud whenever Fleck entered a room, and he would reenter if he didn’t like the ovation.

Dozens of former players publicly supported Fleck after the article was released, and it appears that his “Row The Boat” culture is stronger than ever, but it’s clear that he has a certain way of doing things. The entire situation was certainly weird.

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Fleck worked under former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill at Northern Illinois in 2008, when Fleck was the wide receivers coach and Kill was the head coach of the Huskies. After Minnesota decided to move on from head coach Tracy Claeys following the 2016 season and hire Fleck, he said that he needed to “change the culture” at Minnesota. Kill wasn’t happy with how his friends were let go or how Fleck talked about Kill’s former program.

This led to a dramatic handshake before New Mexico State and Kill played at Minnesota to open the 2022 season. Looking back, this was a pretty silly situation, but it added to Fleck and Kill’s stories at Minnesota.

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.