UPDATED 04/04/2022: Fans noticed something was off with PJ Fleck's appearance at a press conference last week. On Monday, the coach confirmed having surgery but not for cosmetic reasons. Read the original story and the update below.

Original Story

<p>“Call me crazy ... but did PJ Fleck get work done in the offseason?”</p><p> </p>

The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football team kicked off their spring practices last week. The team will hold 15 practices before hosting its annual spring football game (scrimmage) at Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday, April 30th.

It's hard to get excited about practice when the season is still 5-months away so fans didn’t make much of the coach’s speech. However, a lot of people did notice the coach’s appearance though and are wondering if Fleck got some work done during the offseason.

After the team’s first practice, P.J. Fleck addressed the media. He said he failed as a coach last year despite the team’s 9-4 record and bowl game win. Fleck took the blame for the team being inconsistent throughout the 2021 campaign.

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Did Minnesota Gopher Coach P.J. Fleck Get Plastic Surgery?

I watched Fleck's first press conference of spring ball with my sports director and we both noticed something was different about P. J.

Was it the lighting? A bad angle? Or did Fleck get some work done? Check out the images below, but first here is what the coach looked like last year.

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Several people took to Twitter with theories about the coach's new look.

 


 

@Barton1331 blamed the lighting.

@cobrabadger said Fleck appears to have gained some weight.

And, @gopherated said Fleck did what a lot of people do. 

UPDATE:

P.J. Fleck Confirms Surgery

The coach did confirm having plastic surgery but it wasn't for cosmetic reasons. Fleck spoke with Chip Scoggins from the Star Tribune and said he had surgery to fix his face after suffering a bungee cord accident in 2019.

Just got off the phone with Gophers coach P.J. Fleck. He knows that people are aware of his appearance change with his eyes. He explained situation -- He had an accident in summer of 2019. A bungee cord flew back and hit him in face and he had surgery in January to fix damage.

 

Fleck and the Gophers will kick off the 2022 season on September 1st against former Gopher coach Jerry Kill’s New Mexico State team. You can catch all of the games this upcoming season on News Talk 1340 KROC-AM and 96.9 FM.

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