Marcus Freeman suddenly had two critical roles to fill within his staff less than a week after losing the national championship game against Ohio State. One was expected, the other a relatively large surprise. Everyone knew Al Golden was leaving for Cincinnati after the title game ended. On Friday afternoon, however, GM Chad Bowden decided to leave the program for the same role at rival USC where he’ll hope that Lincoln Riley doesn’t continue to get worse each year much longer.
With Golden’s departure, it seems likely that Freeman will look within the program to secondary coach Mike Mickens. Jim Knowles’s name was linked to Notre Dame in a Football Scoop article earlier this week, but that felt a bit like an agent’s plan to raise the price for his client. So far, there have not been any external names linked to the open position. That could change, but for now, it still seems like it’s Mickens’s job to lose.
With Bowden, Freeman has to look outside the program, and I could argue that Bowden’s replacement is even more consequential than Golden’s. Obviously, the defensive coordinator position is vital to the success of any program, but the GM is responsible for the lifeblood of the program. Freeman will have to knock this replacement hire out of the park.
According to FootballScoop, Bowden’s salary was more than tripled by USC. However, there have also been reports that Notre Dame could have matched that salary if they had wanted to and decided not to. That is a very significant bit of news if true. If they could have matched and decided not to, Notre Dame will not have any problem landing a replacement that is at least on par with Bowden, if not better. GM salaries have skyrocketed this off-season as the role has become increasingly more important with NIL and the transfer portal playing in filling out a roster. If Notre Dame is even in the ballpark of what Bowden got, Freeman will have no shortage of candidates to choose from.
Bowden did a great job revitalizing a recruiting program that grew stale under Brian Kelly. Early in his tenure, Kelly had mixed results with 5-star-quality talent, which seemed to have resulted in Kelly self-imposing the “showing down a different aisle” mantra on his program. It became the norm for Notre Dame to have recruiting classes ranked in the teens, with the occasional appearance in the top 10. That has improved slightly under Freman, and Bowden was a big part of that.
At the same time, there is still significant room for improvement with Notre Dame’s recruiting machine, and it’s not all academics, weather, or other old tired mantras. It is ultimately the responsibility of the head coach for recruiting failures, but just like the previous staff, this one has failed to land elite quarterback talent regularly and instead has been known more for its high-profile misses at the position, such as Dante Moore and Deuce Knight. Some of that comes down to closing, but a lot of it also comes down to knowing if Notre Dame was ever going to realistically land either, and in retrospect, the answer in both cases seems painfully obvious.
Notre Dame’s last three recruiting classes have ranked 12, 9, and 12, according to 247Sports. That is an improvement from the end of the Brian Kelly era, but it still leaves room for improvement. The 2025 class specifically fell off towards the end. It wass characterized more by a string of misses over the final months outside of the surprise Signing Day decision of Madden Faraimo than by who Notre Dame closed on. The Irish missed on several long-time, high-profile targets during the season. Most notably, Notre Dame has struggled at the wide receiver position and ultimately lost out on some prospects for which they were long considered favorites, such as Derek Meadows.
Fresh off a national title appearance, Notre Dame has every reason to expect a better recruiting class this year than the one that just signed in December. The bump from a season like the one Notre Dame just had almost always comes in the following recruiting cycle, so timing is of the essence. Freeman can’t rush this hire, but he also needs someone in seat soon to build on the momentum of Notre Dame’s run through the playoffs. For instance, Notre Dame is hosting a massive Junior Day this weekend, making it far from ideal for the Irish to lack a GM.
Situations like this are not ideal for a program in Notre Dame’s position, but they also offer an opportunity to elevate as Freeman likes to say. Bowden did an excellent job in the situation he was placed in three years ago. However, the position his successor steps into will be much different, which could allow Notre Dame to hire a different profile. Notre Dame hadn’t won a major bowl game in almost 30 years before this season. The Irish just won a home playoff game and two NY6 bowl games in three weeks. The Irish don’t have to sell recruits on a vision of reaching the highest level of the sport anymore; they just got to the doorstep with a depleted roster. That is a very different sell on the recruiting front since you don’t have to talk about what Notre Dame could be under Freeman; you can talk about what Notre Dame is.
Make no mistake, though, while the program has an opportunity to improve in replacing Bowden, they could very well step back if the University does not nail this hire. If Notre Dame doesn’t hit a home run with the defensive coordinator hire, Freeman will still be around, and his background is obviously on the defensive side of the ball. If they don’t knock the GM hire out of the park, there isn’t anyone else around to pick up the slack. Based on reports that Notre Dame could have financially matched the offer, money should not be an issue.
With salaries for GMs skyrocketing in the last 12 months, there are now many underpaid GMs around the country that Notre Dame could target. Given the changes to the college football landscape in the last few years, Notre Dame needs someone well-versed in today’s college football universe, not just someone experienced with building out and filling in rosters.
Freeman’s decision here could very well determine whether or not the Irish can take the next step and win a national championship, not just make an appearance.
If true, why would the Irish not match USC’s offer to Chad Bowen?