P.J. Fleck calls North Carolina's Mack Brown a 'sneaky mentor'

Fleck has developed a unique relationship with Brown heading into their Week 1 matchup.

Picture via @CoachMackBrown on X /

Minnesota's Week 1 matchup against North Carolina will be a rematch of last year's 31-13 Tar Heels victory in Chapel Hill. It will be P.J. Fleck's second time facing Hall of Fame head coach Mack Brown and he's well aware of the credentials that Brown brings to the game.

Brown won a national championship with Texas in 2005 and he has 282 wins in his career. After a six-year absence from coaching after leaving Texas, he is in his sixth year as head coach at North Carolina.

"I got a lot of respect for Mack Brown, I think it's well documented the type of relationship that we have, he's always been really, really good to me," Fleck said Monday. "He's been a sneaky mentor because I get him at the most inopportune times and he's always been really, really good to me."

Fun meeting with @WMU_Football HC @Coach_Fleck prepping for the @MACSports Championship Game vs @OhioFootball on ESPN2 at 7 est Fri Night! pic.twitter.com/M22evjCgla

— Mack Brown (@CoachMackBrown) December 2, 2016

Fleck has previously said that as a college player at Northern Illinois he would consistently write letters to every Division I head coach hoping for advice on how to get into the field. Brown, Kirk Ferentz, Mark Richt and Joe Paterno were the only four coaches that wrote back — and Fleck has since Framed each return letter.

Brown will turn 73 years old later this month, but he has shown no signs of slowing down in the coaching world. Almost every year since he's arrived in Chapel Hill there have been rumors of retirement, but he continues to say that it's a tactic to mess with his recruiting.

Ultimately, Fleck and Brown will be facing each other on the sidelines next week and the real game will be happening in between the lines with the players. It will be a pivotal early-season, non-conference test for both programs.