P.J. Fleck called Saturday’s first half at Penn State “30 minutes of some of the worst football I’ve been around.”
Less than 24 hours later, Minnesota made a change.
The Gophers have fired offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr., ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sunday afternoon, and On3 has reported the same.
Harbaugh had called Minnesota’s plays since the 2023 opener.
The move follows a 42-14 loss at Penn State. Minnesota trailed 28-0 at halftime and finished with 226 total yards, just 41 of them on the ground. Fleck said the offense managed 60 yards in the first half. Both Gophers touchdowns came in the third quarter on Drake Lindsey throws to Javon Tracy, after Penn State had already built a 35-0 lead.
It was the third straight loss for Minnesota (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten). Before Penn State, the Gophers lost 23-16 in overtime at #4 Indiana on October 31, then lost 34-20 to #8 UCLA after being tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter. Over its last five games, Minnesota averaged 16.4 points per game, which the Pioneer Press noted would rank 136th of 138 FBS teams. In Big Ten play, the Gophers average 17.6 points, 16th in the 18-team league.
Fleck took the blame afterward. “That 100 percent falls on my shoulders, and I did not have them ready to play,” he said.
Harbaugh, no relation to Jim and John, has spent most of his career on Fleck’s staffs. He played quarterback and receiver at Averett (Va.) from 2005-08, then coached at North Carolina Wesleyan (2009-10), Methodist (2011-12) and Marietta (2013-14), where he was passing game coordinator.
He joined Fleck as a graduate assistant at Western Michigan in 2015-16, followed him to Minnesota as a quality control coach in 2017, coached receivers at Chattanooga in 2018 and returned to the Gophers’ QC role in 2019. After two seasons coaching wide receivers at Western Michigan (2020-21), he came back to Minnesota as tight ends coach in 2022.
When Kirk Ciarrocca left for Rutgers in January 2023, Fleck promoted Harbaugh to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach alongside Matt Simon. Harbaugh took over the call sheet that fall and became the sole coordinator in 2025 after Simon was let go.
Minnesota averaged 21 points per game in 2023 and 26 in 2024, when Max Brosmer set a school record with 268 completions. Last fall, the Gophers went 8-5, 5-4 in the Big Ten, and beat New Mexico 20-17 in overtime in the Rate Bowl. Lindsey, then a redshirt freshman, won eight games, a program record for a freshman quarterback.
Even so, the Star Tribune points out that in Harbaugh’s four seasons as primary play caller, Minnesota averaged fewer than 20 points per game in Big Ten play three times.
On November 2, the Pioneer Press asked Fleck how he’d evaluate Harbaugh’s work. He said he hadn’t really thought about it, “because you’re looking to be 1-0 every single week.”
Several Big Ten coordinators have parted ways with their program in season through last week, and they include Jason Beck (Michigan), Drew Mehringer (Oregon) and Dana Holgorsen (Nebraska).
Moving on from a play caller with two games left is never easy, and it’s harder when the two men have worked together on and off for more than a decade. But Fleck needs one more win to reach a bowl, and his program has built its identity around the postseason. Minnesota has won nine straight bowl games, and Fleck is an impressive 7-0 in them.
Minnesota has not yet announced who will call plays when the Gophers host Northwestern on Senior Day this Saturday.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.