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Rowing the boat to the SEC? P.J. Fleck named as potential option for 2 programs
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Arkansas and South Carolina are a pair of SEC programs that have found themselves miles away from the success it enjoyed in past years. The Razorbacks haven’t been able to recapture the magic of 8 years ago, when Bobby Petrino had them ranked in the top 5 after an affair with a female member of the athletics department led to his dismissal. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are just 6 years removed from the 3rd of 3 11-2 seasons.
Could either school look north to Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck—who has the Golden Gophers at No. 13 and potentially in line for a spot in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday? According to Minneapolis Star-Tribune beat writer Megan Ryan, that could be a possibility.
After a modestly successful 3rd year at SMU, Chad Morris was hired as Bret Bielema’s replacement in Fayetteville. Since taking the role, he went 2-10 in 2018 and is currently at 2-6. To add to the situation, he’s yet to win an SEC game.
Meanwhile, in Columbia, following marks of 6-7, 9-4 and 7-6, along with a 1-2 bowl record, Will Muschamp’s group this year has been an enigma, to say the least. While its biggest win is against No. 8 Georgia, despite hanging with No. 6 Florida and staying decently competitive for a few minutes against No. 2 Alabama, it’s lost to North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri to sit at 3-5.
But the two men’s buyouts, and the possibilty of Fleck receiving a massive pay raise, could make it difficult for either program to bring him in.
Morris will be owed 70% of his remaining contract, or $9.8 million, if fired “without cause” by the end of the season. Meanwhile, Muschamp’s buyout would be an eye-popping $18.6 million if the program decides to show him the door following the last day of this year.
Ryan brings up a 3rd possibility: USC. Despite a 4-1 mark in the Pac-12 and a 37-20 career record, Clay Helton is an underwhelming 5-3 this year and just 10-10 over the past two seasons.
While Fleck in the SEC is simply speculation, he’ll at least land on several programs’ lists, or will get a nice bump in pay from his current employer, before it’s all said and done.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
