Kirk Ferentz reveals how P.J. Fleck has become Big Ten's second-longest tenured head coach

Saturday's rivalry game in Iowa City will be between the two longest tenured head coaches in the Big Ten.

Nov 13, 2021; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P. J. Fleck (left) and Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz (right) talk before the game at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Saturday's annual rivalry game between Iowa and Minnesota will also be a matchup between the two longest tenured head coaches in the Big Ten. After James Franklin was fired at Penn State earlier this season, P.J. Fleck became the second-longest tenured head coach in the conference, only behind Kirk Ferentz with the Hawkeyes.

If there was a coach who knew the secret recipe to long-term success at one school, it would be Ferentz. His first season in Iowa City came in 1999, and no coach in college football has been at his current head coaching job longer. Fleck is slowly climbing up the ranks with only 14 coaches who have been at their current jobs longer.

"We all have different personalities, different ways of doing things. That's what makes the world go around. I don't pretend to be an expert on Western Michigan, but we played them, what I think was his first year, and they were not good when we played them, whatever that was. And then a couple years later, they were playing in the Cotton Bowl," Ferentz said at his weekly press conference.

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Aug 30, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Western Michigan Broncos head coach P.J. Fleck walks the sidelines during 2nd half of a between the Michigan State Spartans and the Western Michigan Broncos game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 26-13. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-Imagn Images | Mike Carter-Imagn Images

Fleck's Western Michigan team squared off with Ferentz and the Hawkeyes for the first time in 2013. The Broncos lost 59-3 in Iowa City, and they finished the season with a 1-11 record. They reached the Cotton Bowl three years later in 2016, and finished with a 13-1 record.

"Now, you get a chance to watch it up close, first hand. First of all, there are no easy jobs anywhere in college football, I don't think. We have our challenges, Minnesota has got their challenges. Every job does, but he has done a great job of working around whatever challenges that they may have," Ferentz continued.

Oct 21, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (8) holds the Floyd of Rosedale trophy with teammates after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

"He has done something that really hasn't been done there in quite some time. You know, they're winning consistently. The biggest thing for me as a coach, you turn the film on, and it looks pretty consistent, no matter who the coordinators are. They play a certain way offensively, defensively, and on special teams. They're typically a big, physical team, and they typically play really hard, and they don't beat themselves."

Saturday's contest will be Fleck's 10th time facing Ferentz as a head coach and his ninth since he has been at Minnesota. Fleck has only beaten the Hawkeyes one time in his career. Three of the last four matchups with the Hawkeyes have been decided by one score.

"It's probably why he has been in the job, however many years it has been now that he has been there. It has been quite a while," Fertenz continued. "That's the other truism, you don't stay in the job unless you're doing a pretty capable job, and sometimes you better be doing a really capable job. The way decisions get made have changed. But you know you gotta be good and gotta be consistent, and they've done that."

The Gophers broke an eight-game losing streak against Iowa in 2023 with their first win in the series since 2014, and they've consistently struggled against Ferentz and the Hawkeyes, with only seven wins since his tenure began in 1999. They will look to buck that trend on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City.