Meanwhile, Golden Gophers underclassmen are already preparing for next season, while PJ Fleck and his coaching staff fly around the country recruiting high school prospects and transfer portal targets from coast-to-coast.

Speaking of the Golden Gophers coaching staff, it’s been in flux this offseason, much more so than the roster. Minnesota lost another defensive coordinator, when Corey Hetherman was hired by Miami. They replaced him with defensive backs coach Danny Collins.

Fleck also lost running backs coach Nic McKissic-Luke, who was hired by the New York Jets for the same position. That after they lost top young assistant, Winston DeLattiboudere, who coached the defensive line and held the position of assistant head coach to the Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota Gophers football hires C.J. Robbins as Rush Ends Coach

But on Monday, PJ Fleck moved to fill part of the coaching vacancy left by DeLattiboudere by hiring Central Michigan DL coach C.J. Robbins as the Golden Gophers’ new Rush Ends coach. Robbins isn’t a stranger to PJ’s program, though. He was a member of the MN coaching staff in 2020 and 2021.

Sources: Minnesota is expected to hire Central Michigan defensive line coach C.J. Robbins as the school's new rush ends coach. Robbins coached previously at Kent and South Dakota. He was also on the staff at Minnesota for two seasons in 2020 and 2021 and is a Northwestern grad. pic.twitter.com/0RorjumzYD

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 11, 2025

C.J. Robbins is from the small town of Peru, Illinois. He was a three year starter for the Northwestern Wildcats from 2014 to 2016 where he wore the captains patch as a senior and where he was named academic All-Big Ten twice.

When Robbins’ playing career ended, he started his coaching career at the University of Miami (Ohio) in 2019 as an assistant defensive line coach. From there, he left for the University of Minnesota, where he worked mostly with Rush Ends, just like he will now.

Related: Minnesota QB Max Brosmer Gets THE Invite

After he left Dinkytown in 2021, C.J. Robbins landed at the University of South Dakota where he also worked with outside linebackers for two seasons. In 2023, he moved on to Kent State University, where he also coached Rush Ends under former U of M running backs coach, Kenni Burns for the past two seasons.

The University of Minnesota and head football coach P.J. Fleck have agreed to a contract amendment, pending Board of Regents approval.

The contract amendment calls for an increased salary pool for assistant coaches and staff and adds an annual bonus for Fleck.

U of M Athletic Dept.

So, what kind of raise are we looking at? According to Regents documents obtained by local freelance writer Eric Vegoe (The Athletic, MN Hockey Mag, among others), Fleck’s increase in salary comes via yearly bonuses that start at $700K this year and run through 2029, where his final scheduled bonus is worth $1.2 million. Of course, PJ would either be fired, hired away or extended long before we ever get to that point.

PJ Fleck Receives Raise Through Bonuses

Essentially, as long as Fleck is employed under this contract and its new amendment, he will get year-over-year raises worth an average of about $1 million. This year’s bonus will make PJ Fleck the 9th (out of 18) highest paid head coach in the Big Ten and it will hit in two different payments.

Related: PJ Fleck, UCLA Wanted Each Other but Shambled Program Could Not Afford Him

The first one is worth $350,000 and it hits in exactly one week (March 8). The second comes on December 31 and it’s worth the same amount. From there, his bonus increases by nearly $1 million at the end of every year.

• 2024: $700,000 ($350,000 on March 8 + $350,000 on December 31); 
• 2025: $800,000 (Dec. 31)
• 2026: $900,000 (Dec. 31)
• 2027: $1,000,000 (Dec. 31)
• 2028: $1,100,000 (Dec. 31)
• 2029: $1,200,000 (Dec. 31)

Fleck’s new bonus system comes on the heels of reports a couple of weeks ago that Fleck might leave Minnesota for UCLA. We’ve learned since that those rumors were no joke and it wouldn’t surprise me if this contract amendment is directly correlated to what almost was with the Bruins.

Minnesota Gophers Assistant Staff Gets Small Raise Too

It’s no secret that Minnesota Gophers assistant coaches are underpaid and it’s become an ongoing problem for PJ Fleck each of the last two offseasons, as he has seen both his offensive and defensive coordinators ditch town for better paying Big Ten jobs at Rutgers and Michigan State, respectively.

While this contract amendment gives them a $500K raise to the assistant pool, Minnesota moves up just three spots from dead last to 15th in the conference. For context, former OC Kirk Ciarrocca and former DC Joe Rossi received individual $400K-$500K raises when they were hired away by Big Ten rival schools.

Related: Are Minnesota Gophers Assistant Football Coaches Underpaid? The Contracts Say…

Fleck ranks 5th all-time in program history with 50 total wins (29 conference wins). His .595 win percentage (50-34) is third best among head coaches in University of Minnesota football history, with at least 45 games coached. Henry L. Williams’ .786 (1900-21) and Bernie Bierman’s .716 (1932-41, ‘45-50) are the only two tenured coaches who were better at winning games than PJ. The Gophers are also 5-0 in bowl games under Fleck.

Related: Ihmir Smith-Marsette Claims PJ Fleck, Gophers Over-Pressured Him to Commit During 2017 Visit

And guess what? It appears that assistant coaching salaries at the University of Minnesota seem to fall into the, ‘some things never change’ euphemism. Really, we don’t even have to dig directly into where the Gophers’ assistant coach salary ‘pool’ currently ranks compared to other Big Ten programs.

Why do Minnesota Gophers assistant coaches keep leaving for other Big Ten jobs?

Sometimes, anecdotal evidence tells enough of a story that you don’t even need the entire picture before realizing the obvious. Minnesota has lost both its offensive and defensive coordinators each of the past two seasons. Why? You guessed it. They don’t want to pay them what other Big Ten schools will.

Fleck’s longtime OC Kirk Ciarrocca was hired away for a $500K raise at Penn State, before the 2020 season. After flopping there, he came groveling back and was hired at a discount to be the Gophers’ offensive coordinator again in 2022. After one season, he jumped ship again, when offered a $500K pay raise to at Rutgers, where he remains the offensive coordinator today.

Related: ’24 Gophers Commit Koi Perich Jumps Into Consensus Top-75 Nationally

Then earlier this winter, it was Joe Rossi — Gophers’ defensive coordinator since midway through the 2018 season — who was targeted by yet another Big Ten team out east. This time, it was Michigan State who came calling with a $400K raise (from $1.1M to $1.5M). How many times do you have to lose a coordinator before you realize you aren’t paying them enough? We are yet to find that out, apparently.

Minnesota paid football assistant coaches less than any other public Big Ten school in 2023

But, as promised, I didn’t come here with anecdotal evidence only. According to USA Today, the Minnesota Gophers football program had a smaller assistant coach salary pool in 2023 than any of the 12 (now 15) public Big Ten schools that report coaching salaries.

I mean, the proof is in the numbers. PJ Fleck is the 9th-highest paid head coach in the (new) Big Ten, of the 15 schools that report. So, just below average. Not great, but in the top-30. Where the University of Minnesota is really lacking is in the assistant salaries, where they literally rank at the bottom of the Big Ten.

So, if you’re wondering why the Gophers continue to lose assistant coaches to other Big Ten schools, in what appear to be lateral moves, now you know. For whatever reason, the U of M is willing to pay Fleck enough to stay, but not an extra $1 million so he can pay his OC and DC not to go elsewhere?

PJ Fleck needs good offensive and defensive coordinators

The worst part about these coordinators being hired away is the type of head coach PJ Fleck is. Yes, he has a lot of say in how the offense operates (probably too much), but Fleck is a former WR coach who has never called plays or been an offensive coordinator. He isn’t Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Chip Kelly or Lincoln Riley, offensive coaches known for reinventing offensive systems and schemes, from a head coaching position.

Related: Under PJ Fleck, Gophers Will Never Lack Motivation

Instead, Fleck excels at being a program manager. His attention to detail and desperate search for perfection isn’t within the X’s and O’s. It’s in the culture and overall direction of the football team. PJ’s ability to set a tone and build a culture are unmatched. Every single person in the University of Minnesota football program knows what’s expected of them and the consequences if they do not meeting expectations.

That’s Fleck’s super power. But on the field, in the gameplanning room and on the recruiting trail, PJ relies on his assistant coaches to excel in their duties. And after Kirk Ciarrocca left the first time, Minnesota’s offense has never gotten back to the promise it showed from 2018 and 2019, when it averaged 29 and 34 points per game, respectively. The Gophers’ offense averaged 21 points in 2023.

Coming out of 2019, after the 11-2 season that ended in an Outback Bowl victory over Auburn, the Gophers offense was seen as one of the top up-and-coming attacks in the Big Ten. It’s difficult to believe it was only four years ago that Tanner Morgan, Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman were setting all sorts of passing records in Dinkytown, because those days have long passed this program by. Let’s just hope that’s not what comes to pass on defense, now that Joe Rossi is out.

It’s been over two weeks since Ben Johnson was hired as head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. Yet, when we all woke up this morning, Johnson’s assistant coaching staff had still yet to be named. This is unheard of in college basketball, especially during the craziest recruiting offseason in college basketball history.

Finally, we’re getting some answers. It looks like Ben Johnson and Mark Coyle are ready to pull the trigger on Dave Thorson (Colorado State), Jason Kemp (William & Mary) and POSSIBLY Jaime McNeilly (Texas A&M),.

SOURCE: Word out of Minnesota is Ben Johnson’s staff will consist Jaime McNeilly from Texas A&M, Dave Thorson from Colorado State & Jason Kemp at William & Mary.

— Sean Paul (@Sean02MTM) April 7, 2021

Dave Thorson is no surprise to anyone who’s been following this process. We’ve talked about him at nauseum HERE. He coached Ben Johnson at DeLaSalle high school and is one of the most well-respected coaches/recruiters in Minnesota. He and Ben together should make for a deadly duo in local circles.

Jaime McNeilly and Jason Kemp

William & Mary assistant, Jason Kemp, is the only other assistant coaching hire who has been confirmed by other reporters in the Twin Cities. Kemp is from Wisconsin but got his coaching start at Minnesota State Moorhead back in the mid-2000’s. He coached William & Mary transfer, Luke Loewe, who will play for the Gophers next season. Kemp has spent most of his coaching career at North Dakota State and Ohio University, with a stop in Toledo.

On @CoachJasonKemp, rumored to be on @CoachBenJohnson staff: One college coach told me "He's a star." Another mentioned he's great at building relationships with the players and connects extremely well with prospects and parents. #Gophers

— Justin Gaard (@jgkfan) April 7, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

As Pitino continues his search to fill Jeter’s ass’t spot, Baylor’s Jared Nuness isn’t in the mix, but is really hopeful that fellow Hopkins alum and former Iona ass’t Jeff Mailhot gets it. Nuness thinks Mailhot would do a great job helping keep instate talent home. #Gophers

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) April 3, 2020

Have you heard of Jeff Mailhot? I hadn’t either, until two days ago. If you aren’t from the Minneapolis area, with HUGE ties to the high school basketball community, he’s probably not a name that would ring a bell. He’s now the leading candidate to sit next to Richard Pitino, as his next assistant coach next season.

That tweet was the first time I had ever seen Jeff Mailhot’s name. Then, I saw him mentioned over at GopherIllustrated.com earlier today. I had to do some of my own digging after that…. and now I’m pretty convinced: Pitino and Coyle are on their way to hiring Mailhot.

Who is Jeff Mailhot?

Mailhot coached at Iona (which I knew from Doogie’s tweet). If you plan on doing any of your own research like me, make sure you include “basketball” when you type his name into Google. I’m glad nobody named Eric Strack has ever murdered anyone (that the internet is aware of).

Currently, Mailhot is Richard’s only candidate with steam for this job. Pitino needs to move on an assistant ASAP, too. We are in the middle of a huge recruiting period and kids are falling off the board everyday.

After some keyword adjustments in my search, I found a damn good article via the Sun News, from back when Mailhot was hired at New Mexico State in 2017. The article REALLY hits hard on his recruiting prowess… which admittedly gets me giddy. 

Not only is he known as a great recruiter… but he’s from Minneapolis, where he actually played and cut his coaching teeth at Hopkins High School. Jeff also spent time coaching at Robbinsdale-Cooper. Apparently, he was sending kids to the U of M, back when it was still the cool thing to do…

No stranger to the recruiting trail, Mailhot has been able to recruit, develop and send over 35 players to Division I teams across the country. His most notable recruit was Jae Crowder, who was drafted in the second round (34th pick overall) by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012 and currently playing for the Boston Celtics.

Sun News

Mailhot earned his stripes as an assistant coach at the prep level, leading his alma mater Hopkins High School to the 2009 high school state championship during his second stop at HHS with an undefeated record of 29-0 and finished the season ranked No. 10 by USA Today. Between his two stints with the Royals, Mailhot was at Robbinsdale Cooper High School for the 2007-08 campaign where he coached a top-100 recruit that went on to play at Minnesota. While coaching at Hopkins High School, Mailhot saw eight players sign with Division I programs across the country.

Sun News

To conclude…. I didn’t know who Jeff Mailhot was 2 days ago. Now, I will be pissed off if Richard doesn’t hire him. 

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan