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Lincoln Riley, USC reportedly nab significant Notre Dame staffer for GM role
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Lincoln Riley and USC are looking to rebound heading into a crucial Year 4 for the coach with the Trojans. To do so, Riley is reportedly grabbing a key staffer from Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame program.
According to John Brice with Football Scoop, USC is hiring Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden to serve as the General Manager for the Trojans. In his initial report, Brice described the move as a “shockwave” for the Fighting Irish.
Bowden was the initial hire for Marcus Freeman after joining Brian Kelly’s staff as the defensive coordinator for the Irish. The prominent staffer was reportedly making between $275,000-$300,000 at Notre Dame and was pursued for a similar GM role at Michigan last year.
Brice reported that Lincoln Riley himself became “very personally involved” in the pursuit of Bowden following the disappointing conclusion to the 2023 season and the underwhelming 2024 season. And that pursuit was successful per Brice with reports of the deal to hire Bowden worth at least $1 million annually.
Bowden was viewed as the key to compiling Notre Dame’s key 2024 additions, headlined by starting quarterback Riley Leonard from Duke. However, he reportedly did so with an NIL budget of around $8 million, substantially less than other top contenders.
We’ll see how the move of Bowden impacts the respective futures of USC and Notre Dame, but it looks like a major win for Riley and the Trojans at this juncture.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.