MN Gophers Promote Coach on Defense

It has become commonplace for P.J. Fleck’s assistants to be poached for other jobs at both the college and NFL levels. Throughout his nine seasons as Minnesota Gophers head football coach, Fleck continues to surround himself with coaching talent that the U of M budget cannot afford to keep.

The most recent example was OLB/Nickel coach Kevin Kane, who was (re)hired by Purdue to re-take his place as their defensive coordinator. Kane’s departure happened just a couple weeks after Minnesota fired its defensive line coach, Dennis Dottin-Carter.

C.J. Robbins Earns Defensive Line Title for Gophers

So with their Rate Bowl matchup vs New Mexico on deck December 26, Fleck needs to make some adjustments to his coaching staff. The first came from within. On Monday, we saw one of those dominoes fall when Rush Ends (OLB) Coach C.J. Robbins was promoted to defensive line coach.

The Gophers football program is working towards promoting C.J. Robbins to defensive line coach, the Pioneer Press learned on Sunday. Head coach P.J. Fleck has a track record of elevating existing coaches on his staff to bigger roles and is expected to do so again with Robbins, who has been the U’s rush ends coach since February.

Robbins would replace Dennis Dottin-Carter, who was dismissed as D-line coach Dec. 5 after one season in charge of that position group. Over the last few weeks, Robbins has been the acting defensive line coach going into the Rate Bowl against New Mexico at Chase Field at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Andy Greder – Pioneer Press

C.J. Robbins — who first coached for the Gophers in 2020 and 2021 — was re-hired last offseason. Prior to rejoining Minnesota, Robbins was at Central Michigan.

The defensive coaching shuffle this winter comes after the 2025 Gophers were gashed up the middle in the run game on a regular basis. While Anthony Smith (10.5 sacks), Karter Menz (5.5), and Jaxon Howard (4.5) posted solid pass-rushing numbers, the interior lacked consistency.

Minnesota ranked 31st among Division I defenses in rushing yards allowed per game, which ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten, a stark difference from most Gopher defenses, under PJ Fleck, which have consistently ranked in the top 10 nationwide.

Andy Greder’s report at the Pioneer Press also noted that the Gophers plan to fill Robbins’ former role with an external hire. In addition, the staff must replace Kane as the outside linebackers/nickelbacks coach.