Jerry Kill’s grudge against P.J. Fleck has drawn plenty of headlines heading into the Sept. 1 opener between Minnesota and New Mexico State, but Fleck’s not feeding the controversy with retaliatory words.
Kill has been boisterous leading up to Thursday’s matchup, saying he’s not sure if he’ll shake Fleck’s hand after the game. Fleck was asked about those comments during a press conference on Friday and said he’s always shaken the hand of an opposing head coach.
“There’s a tradition that goes 100 years ago of coaches meeting at midfield,” Fleck said. “It has nothing to do with this, but I’ve been a head coach [for] 10 years and I haven’t not shaken one head coach’s hand in my entire career.”
In the event Kill doesn’t oblige, Fleck showed a sense of humor.
“I may have had to go find a guy.” Fleck said.
There’s a chance Fleck may have to go through the tunnels of Huntington Bank Stadium to get his handshake on Thursday night. Kill coached the Gophers for four-plus seasons but stepped down after seven games in 2015 due to complications from epilepsy.
Kill tabbed his defensive coordinator, Tracy Claeys, as his successor, though Claeys was fired after one full season and replaced by Fleck, who is 35-23 in six seasons at Minnesota. Kill believes Fleck treated his remaining staff members unfairly and trashed the culture that he built with the Gophers.
Meanwhile, Kill has held several roles since his departure. He was the interim head coach at TCU after Gary Patterson was fired last fall and was then hired as the head coach at New Mexico State this offseason, setting up a grudge match against Fleck and the Gophers in the season opener.
“I wish I knew what was going to happen when I get there and everything and, you know, we’ll let it play out and so forth,” Kill said in an interview with KARE 11’s Randy Shaver.
