P.J. Fleck departure is a possibility, says Western Michigan president

By Madison Bennett | MLive

KALAMAZOO, MI - If Western Michigan University head football coach P.J. Fleck leaves the Broncos after this season, the administration is prepared to find a "great" replacement, WMU President John Dunn said.

"Whatever ultimately happens we wish him (the best) as well as we'll recover and move on," Dunn said Thursday during a taping of WMUK's WestSouthwest program.

With Western's football team off to a 7-0 start, Fleck has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks that he could be lured away by a larger program. Fleck, 35, is in his fourth season at WMU.

"You know we're going to find a great president soon, if we need to, we'll find a great coach," said Dunn, who previously announced his intention to retire next June.

The Broncos host Eastern Michigan (5-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Waldo Stadium.

"I think the commitments we've made to P.J., I think he appreciates deeply and he'll be very thoughtful and he'll be very fair," Dunn said.

The Broncos have made history this season. They're now nationally ranked, sitting at No. 20 in the Associated Press college football poll and are 7-0 for the first time since 1941. Fleck has been featured on ESPN two separate times, appearing in an interview with Scott Van Pelt as well as a short interview segment in Kalamazoo.

It's no secret that Fleck, who turned around the football program after a 1-11 season in his first year, is a hot commodity on the coaching market.

With coaching vacancies around the country, including at Purdue and Louisiana State, Fleck has been the topic of conversation on numerous sports talk shows.

Fleck was also named as one of the 23 head coaches on the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list. The award is presented after all bowl games have concluded and finalists will be announced in December.

Players say the attention their coach is well-deserved. "What everybody else says about other jobs, he deserves those jobs 100 percent," quarterback Zach Terrell said during their weekly press conference on Tuesday. Terrell also called Fleck "one of the best coaches in college football."

For his part, Fleck said he is focused on the present. "They get 100 percent of P.J. Fleck every day," Fleck said during the press conference Tuesday.

While money is an important factor when it comes to searching for a head coach, Dunn says there are other factors that play a key role.

"The idea that money is important, we never want to negate or argue against that, but there's also a quality of life and a level of happiness," Dunn said.

Fleck is the highest paid coach in the Mid-American Conference, making $800,000 a year. A portion of his compensation is paid by outside donors.

Asked if there was a possibility of enhancing Fleck's current financial package to keep the coach, Dunn said, "I'm quite confident those conversations have occurred already."

WestSouthwest airs at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays on WMUK 102.1 FM.

This post originally appeared Oct. 22, 2016 on MLive.com.