Lincoln Riley finally got to take some breath of relief after an underwhelming season and constant jabs on his recruitment hustle. Veteran analysts like Paul Finebaum used to put him on notice questioning what exactly he did do to deserve another year in South California. It is still left unanswered, but Riley possibly found a new strategic bypass to surpass all these uncomfortable debates and doubts. The Trojans were able to flip two stars (linebacker AJ Tuitele and edge rusher Jadyn Ramos) to their 2025 roster on the February national signing day. But the fact that they secured Chad Bowden‘s words as the new general manager of the program overshadowed every other affair on the CFB globe.

As college football rolls into a paradigm shift amidst the growing NIL market, an NFL-like front-office evaluation has never been more crucial. Aligning the purpose with the new GM’s new responsibility, Riley released a statement.

Lincoln Riley drags the truth behind USC’s new GM move

In an arranged press meet, the USC head coach opened up about how it’s not okay to overburden the coaches with other work like recruiting, talent hunting, salary capping, and everything just because of the deep lack in the supporting staff’s room. Pinpointing the reason behind taking the former Notre Dame GM to the board, Riley said, “One of his biggest goals, and our biggest goals with this was to allow our coaches to coach more. I know as crazy as that sounds but we, you know a lot of our coaches get pulled in so many different directions that you want to be able to within your organization that whatever strengths people bring to the table you want to be able to accentuate those as much as you possibly can.”

USC coaches still get involved in recruiting matters, chiming in with their priceless opinions, but the responsibility will be spearheaded for the more efficient running of each separate division. Because, as a stand-out college football team, it’s pivotal to make room for players’ holistic development and produce some future NFL phenoms in the process. For seamless execution, it’s mandatory that the coaches have their full focus on the coaching staff.

”The department, it’s going to have a heavy role in recruiting, it’s going to have a heavy role in how we construct our roster, it’s going to have a heavy role in our salary cap and how we manage that how we strategize,” Riley added more intel on Bowden’s pressure on the shoulder. The HC clearly has a plan and looks focused on implementing it for everyone’s benefit.

If you watch the NFL pattern closely, you might find a subtle similarity but it’s easy to reach there fully. As Bowden agrees with the intention and is drastically blown away by the program’s potential to success, it’s highly possible that he will effortlessly glide into the new experimental mode; and perform his job like no other. An NFL-like system is just a matter of time. ”It’s certainly trending much closer to that where there is there’s a lot of synergy,” Lincoln Riley articulated the transition.

However, with all that being said and done, the bottom line is Bowden will be driving the Trojans. to success and ND fans are reaping him off for the same on Twitter. But strange, none of them ain’t raising a finger at Marcus Freeman to let that happen.

Did Marcus Freeman not strive enough to retain Chad Bowden?

Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman owe their maximum recruiting momentum to Chad Bowden. He was more than a staff. He has been linked to Freeman and shares a friendly bond with Marcus since their Cincy days. So, it’s quite evident he invested his heart and soul into the program. But in a recent media interaction, the new USC GM said that USC meant more to him.

As a Notre Dame fan, don’t just get mad at him. He justified his stance, saying he had a very childhood connection with the Trojans. He grew up watching Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, etc. That is not wrong. Admiration knows no bounds. But don’t you ever wonder if that is the only reason Bowden has moved on? Yes, you guessed it right. It’s again money.

Per reports, the former Irish GM used to earn around $300,000 annually. USC knocks at his door with a better paycheck, estimated to be beyond a million dollars. What a hike! It’s now easier to see his shift as inevitable. But couldn’t Freeman do more to make him stay?

Analyst Wojciak rightly pointed out, ”They just gave Marcus Freeman a big contract extension, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. A big part of Freeman’s extension was not only the money that was going to be given to Freeman but also the pool of money that he could then use on his assistants.” So, there lies a lack of intent to be blunt.

However, for good or bad, USC heads to a new start, stepping away from the painful 7-6 past, with their new GM on the board, and the fingers demand to be crossed! Hopefully, Lincoln Riley’s move will soon bear fruits.