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P.J. Fleck discusses departure of Kirk Ciarrocca: ‘He’s given me a lot of time in the Midwest’

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Minnesota is wrapping up a very successful season under head coach P.J. Fleck, but the Gophers are now facing the added task of replacing offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca.

It was announced Thursday that Ciarrocca was leaving the program with the added sting that he is headed to another B1G school in Penn State. James Franklin lured Ciarrocca to replace Ricky Rahne who left to take the head coaching position at Old Dominion.

Fleck addressed the departure Thursday evening, indicating that it was “inevitable” that Ciarrocca would get a big-time opportunity to return to his home state of Pennsylvania. He wished Ciarrocca the best of luck and touched on the transition of their relationship from coworkers to competitors:

“I’ve known this has been a goal of his for a long time,” said Fleck, referring to Ciarrocca’s chance to coach in his home state. “He’s given me a lot of time in the Midwest. It was inevitable before he got an opportunity like that. I wish him all the best, appreciate all the work he’s done for us.

“When you have somebody go in the conference and that’s where they go. You know, say your goodbyes, shake each other’s hands, thank each other for what we’ve done, and you move on and become competitors just like that.”

RELATED: P.J. Fleck updates Minnesota’s play-calling duties following departure of OC Kirk Ciarrocca

Fleck even compared the loss of Ciarrocca as similar to a breakup. After all, the two have been working together going back to Fleck’s time as head coach at Western Michigan:

“Kirk’s given me seven amazing years. It’s a relationship. It’s a little bit like a little breakup,” explained Fleck.

Megan Ryan with the Star Tribune shared the video of Fleck’s full comments:

Hopefully, things work out okay for Ciarrocca and the Gophers under their next OC.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.