

That this was one of the worst teams and programs in America,” Fleck said. “Here’s what I’ll say: One year ago from today, people said I was the worst head coach in America.
The next big thing tampa 2015 mac#
People want real, and there’s a lot of fake out there in 2015.” And whether or not his team can make a bid to upset an MSU team he said “has everything,” the Broncos appear stocked for a MAC title run. WMU’s recruiting continues to soar because, Fleck said, “We’re real people. After a 1-11 debut season that started with a 26-13 loss at MSU, Fleck pulled off the second-largest turnaround in MAC history last season, improving the Broncos to 8-5. You know those things are gonna come your way.”įleck also knows the questions about other jobs will keep coming his way, and he declined to talk specifically about Illinois with reporters Saturday. And that’s just part of being a public figure. “And the one thing I will say is that when you go through times like that, you’re a public figure and so people will say what they want to say and make up what they want to make up, and do different things like that. And we’re raising three beautiful children. And my ex-wife and I have an amazing working relationship with those kids, and we co-parent and do an amazing job. “And nothing would ever come in the way of me and my children. “The most important thing in my life is my children,” Fleck said of son Carter and daughters Paisley and Harper. Fleck also addressed those rumors with the team, Terrell said, and he added: “We believe what he told us, and everything else is just noise.” There were rough days in this process, though, tied in particular to the inevitable rumors that accompanied the divorce. And every day, we’re just changing our best.” If I ever get divorced, I can call him.’ And it just opens up another avenue for me to be able to educate and teach. “As these guys continue to grow older, they know that, ‘Hey, coach Fleck has lost a son. “It was amazing, because then so many people came up to me and said, ‘Coach, my parents were divorced’ or ‘I’m going through this,’ and it opened up another line of communication that I can help educate them, another avenue to bring us closer together as a football team,” Fleck said. He also has discussed with them the child he and Tracie lost, Colton, who died of a heart condition shortly after birth in 2010 - the genesis of his trademarked “Row the Boat” mantra, three words that convey sticking together and moving forward. We all got through that together, and I truly believe it will make him a better coach and make us a better team.”įleck said his players set up prayer groups for him and were his sounding boards throughout the process. “He was very open with all of us about what was going on in his personal life, and he didn’t have to do that,” Terrell said. The counter to that: Look at the way Fleck handled his divorce this year from the mother of his three children, Tracie. That’s a lot of hype and attention for a guy with nine victories in two head coaching seasons - “I’ve won 41/2 games a year that gets coaches fired,” he said - and the obvious counter, especially from those who must recruit against him, is that he’s all flash and style. SI’s Pete Thamel wrote that Fleck “has changed WMU from a directional afterthought to a force on both the field and the recruiting trail,” citing the Broncos’ 2014 class - calling it the highest-ranked in MAC history - and adding: “The catalyst behind this transformation? His enthusiasm.”Ĭ columnist Dennis Dodd listed Fleck first among possible replacements for the recently fired Tim Beckman at Illinois - after a previous feature on Fleck speculating that his “fascinating” journey from Northern Illinois star to elementary school teacher to two-year NFL receiver to Kalamazoo could end up with Fleck as the “next big thing” in coaching. “You never really know what’s going to come through those doors,” junior quarterback Zach Terrell said of his coach’s creativity, which was the focal point of an article in the Feb.
