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P.J. Fleck is no longer the youngest coach in the Power Five

By Collin Kottke

Sep 4, 2015; Kalamazoo, MI, USA; Western Michigan Broncos head coach P.J. Fleck talks to referees during the 1st half of a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Waldo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2015; Kalamazoo, MI, USA; Western Michigan Broncos head coach P.J. Fleck talks to referees during the 1st half of a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Waldo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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P.J. Fleck is no longer the youngest coach in the Power Five conferences.

For about five months, P.J. Fleck had a fun title. When Fleck was brought over to be the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Fleck became the youngest coach in the Power Five conferences of college football. That is no longer the case.

On Wednesday, the college football world was rocked with the surprise retirement of Oklahoma Sooners Head Coach Bob Stoops. Stoops won 10 Big 12 Championships and one National Championship in his tenure at Oklahoma. He retires after back-to-back Big 12 Championships, finishing in the top five the last two seasons and a 35-19 victory over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl in his last game coached.

Stoops will now hand the Sooners reigns over to Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Lincoln Riley. Riley takes the job at age 33. Fleck is 36 years old.

Riley isn’t only just the youngest coach in the Power Five but in all of FBS college football, according to HERO Sports. Riley is two years younger than the second youngest coach and that title belongs to Memphis Tigers Head Coach Mike Norvell.

There are a total of 14 coaches throughout the FBS that are under the age of 40. Fleck is in fourth on that list. Fleck and Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell are the only two under 40 with their second FBS job, Fleck with Western Michigan and now Minnesota and Campbell with Toledo and now Iowa State.

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D.J. Durkin of the Maryland Terrapins is the only other Big Ten coach on the list of head coaches under the age of 40.

With the retirement of Stoops, the longest tenured coach in the FBS is now Iowa Hawkeyes Head Coach Kirk Ferentz.

Fleck and a crew of Gophers coaches just wrapped up the Gophers Road Trip on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Fleck crossed the Mississippi River with an oar in his hand. The first game of the Fleck era is set for Thursday, August 31, at TCF Bank Stadium against Buffalo. Kickoff/boat launch is set for 6:00 Central on that August night.

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