The college football general manager is one of the fastest-changing roles in the sport, and many major programs have taken big swings this offseason. Just this past week, Nebraska looked to the NFL level for GM help, while Oklahoma hired longtime scout Jim Nagy. Texas promoted an internal player personnel staffer, Brandon Harris, and Wisconsin leaned on administrator Marcus Sedberry.
The general manager position is still largely in its infancy as teams try to decide the best way to deploy resources. Some programs are pulling from the pros to build NFL-style personnel departments with scouting and roster management arms. Others have looked to the college ranks, including personnel directors and scouts. The coming years will prove which model works best.
Here are a few of the highest-profile general manager hires of the offseason and how they might fit in with their respective teams.
Oklahoma: Jim Nagy
Background: Senior Bowl director, NFL scout
What sets Oklahoma apart as one of the blue blood programs in college football is its sheer organizational competence. From Wilkinson to Riley and everyone in between, Oklahoma has stayed ahead of the curve and found advantages. In hiring Nagy, a longtime NFL scout and executive director of the Senior Bowl, Oklahoma hopes it has found yet another advantage.
Nagy has long been respected for his scouting ability and even interviewed for NFL general manager positions. He has a wide range of contacts across the NFL and college football, which should be a major benefit to building a roster both via high school and transfer portal. Oklahoma has recruited exceptionally well under coach Brent Venables, but the program has two losing seasons in the past three years. Nagy’s skill set should be especially welcome in the transfer portal with his background scouting college players for the Senior Bowl.
One thing to watch in the coming years is whether Nagy is tied more to Venables or the athletic department as Venables enters 2025 on one of the hottest seats in college football. According to On3, Venables was not part of the search for a GM. Certainly, it would seem Nagy would require a longer-term commitment to join the program.
Background: Longtime NFL personnel staffer, NFL GM
Lombardi has deep ties in the NFL dating back to his time starting as a scout with the San Francisco 49ers in 1984. Even though he only spent one year as a general manager (2013 with the Cleveland Browns), he is considered a highly influential personnel staffer in modern NFL history. North Carolina coach Bill Belichick made Lombardi top priority when he was hired in Chapel Hill, ultimately making him the program’s first hire.
Lombardi has not held a formal football role since working as assistant to the coaching staff with Belichick’s New England Patriots in 2016. He has since primarily worked in media. Needless to say, the transition to college athletics could be a stark one, though one he remains excited about. Lombardi has added a handful of administrators with college ties, including ex-UCF staffer Andrew Blaylock as associate director of player personnel, to help the process. However, Lombardi’s greatest asset may simply be his credibility.
Background: Detroit Lions scout
After losing Bowden, the Irish reportedly went after Texas Tech GM James Blanchard, who comes from a deep high school scouting background. Instead, Notre Dame looked to the Detroit Lions, one of the most well-constructed football rosters of the past few years. It’s a different approach than the college-focused Bowden but one that could provide benefits.
The Lions have done a sensational job of identifying young talent with upside during their NFL Draft process. The Fighting Irish have strong success as a developmental program, and Martin should be able to translate his talent vision to the collegiate level. It will be interesting to see how Notre Dame’s acquisition strategy changes after moving from a college personnel staffer to an NFL one.
USC: Chad Bowden
Background: Notre Dame GM, player personnel staffer
Unlike many of the other names on this list, Bowden is a college-to-college poaching. Bowden came with Marcus Freeman from Cincinnati to Notre Dame as a personnel staffer before he was formally promoted to general manager before the 2024 season. At Notre Dame, Bowden helped construct one of the deepest, most talented rosters in program history to reach the CFP National Championship Game.
Bowden came up on the defensive side of the ball and learned from two of the best — Freeman and Luke Fickell — how to identify defensive talent. That will be a major boon for USC as the program tries to find its footing under coach Lincoln Riley. Bowden’s presence has already brought some benefit as USC recently took over as the No. 1 recruiting class in 2026. Unlike many on this list, Bowden has much better track record scouting high school.
Furthermore, like many offensive minded coaches, Riley has struggled to construct a complete roster. Especially at Oklahoma, his star talent vastly over indexed at wide receiver and quarterback. Having a new set of eyes in the room to evaluate the recruiting operation should help lead to a more balanced roster.
Background: New England Patriots personnel
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has a unique perspective as a head coach at both the collegiate and NFL level. He leaned on his NFL bonafides once again to bring longtime New England Patriots staffer Patrick Stewart to Lincoln. Stewart previously spent three years under Rhule with the Carolina Panthers, and he even worked with Rhule at Western Carolina and Temple before landing in the NFL.
The Cornhuskers are considered to have one of the more robust NIL operations in college football, so managing rosters and building NFL-style infrastructure will be Stewart’s top priority. Reportedly, existing GM Sean Padden will move to a role focused on salary cap and contracts, which will complement Stewart’s skillset.
Rhule has a long history of finding and retaining staffers that he trusts across stops and levels. That he identified Stewart — and found a different role for Padden, a longtime Rhule staffer — is a strong endorsement of his trust.
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