INDIANAPOLIS — The first time P.J. Fleck faced Rutgers as a head coach, he used his postgame press conference as an infomercial for Greg Schiano, another voice lobbying the Scarlet Knights to bring his former boss back to Piscataway to revive the program his Golden Gophers had just finished stomping.
Three years later, Fleck will face the consequences of his actions.
Rutgers hired Schiano as head coach for a second time after all, leading to the first-ever head-to-head meeting between mentor and mentee when the Scarlet Knights head to Minnesota this October. And while Fleck, who served as Schiano’s wide receivers coach with the Scarlet Knights (2010-11) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012), did not make it happen by himself, his stump speech certainly did not hurt.
Asked what it will be like to face Schiano for the first time while sitting at a podium Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days, Fleck reverted to his default mode: waxing poetic about “one of the most influential people” in his life.
“Greg is one of the most influential people in my life,” Fleck said. “I always say I came to Greg as a boy and left as a man. He made me grow up really fast. He knew that I wanted to be a head coach. Everything he taught me, he had that in the back of his mind. He’s incredibly demanding, never met a more organized, detailed man in my whole life, on and off the field. Still haven’t to this day. He’s intense. He loves Rutgers, he loves New Jersey and he loves football and he loves it his own way, which is what makes him really special. He’s in a perfect fit, which allows Greg to be Greg. … If it wasn’t for Greg, I wouldn’t be a coach. I owe everything to him.”
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Along with Schiano, Fleck will see another familiar face on the Rutgers sideline in that meeting in Minneapolis.
The Scarlet Knights hired Joe Harasymiak, who served as Minnesota’s co-defensive coordinator for the previous two seasons, as their defensive coordinator this offseason. The Waldwick native will be tasked with turning around a defense that ranked 11th in the Big Ten in scoring defense (25.6 points allowed per game) and yards allowed (396.7 per game).
Fleck seems confident his pupil can do it. Along with jokingly saying that Schiano has “got to stop taking my coaches,” he waxed poetic about the hire.
“He’s brilliant,” Fleck said. “You’re going to love him out there. Incredibly intelligent, great with the players, a wonderful teacher. The players love him, he’s got a great way culturally to relate to everybody and he brings out the most in everybody he’s around. His personality is infectious. Great recruiter.”
Harasymiak helped the Golden Gophers become one of the best defenses in the country last season, a unit that ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense (allowed 17.3 points per game), eighth in rushing defense (97.5 yards allowed per game) and ninth in passing defense (181.2 yards allowed per game).
So Fleck was not surprised to see him move on, calling it “inevitable.” He believes Harasymiak, who served as the head coach at Maine for three seasons before heading to Minneapolis, will “be a head coach again” soon.
It is not the first time Fleck, who is entering his sixth season at the helm in Minnesota, has seen a young coach leave his program. Fittingly, he sees the positive in it.
“I love when guys leave our staff and go take a step up,” Fleck said. “To be a defensive coordinator at Rutgers and learn under Greg, that’s a huge compliment. You want your staff to be able to go live out your dream. I hire a lot of young coaches. That comes along with it. You’re going to have young guys who are really ambitious. I love that about them. Have them dip their feet in the water with me, learn as much as they can with me then go build up with somebody else to be a head coach.
“There’s a balance to it. You’re sad to see him go but you want to see him go accomplish their dream because they’re helping you have success in your own dream. You’re either having your dream come true or helping someone else’s dream. I’m glad those guys are getting their dreams too.”
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
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