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USC hires Notre Dame general manager Chad Bowden to same position

Kyle Kellyby:Kyle Kelly•01/24/25•

ByKyleKelly

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Notre Dame general manager Chad Bowden. (Photo by Mike Miller/BGI)

The man who constructed Notre Dame football’s roster is officially headed to SoCal. On Friday, USC announced that it had hired Fighting Irish general manager Chad Bowden for the same position.

FootballScoop’s John Brice reported the news earlier in the day, and Southern Cal made it official Friday evening. According to Brice, Bowden’s deal with Southern Cal is worth about $1 million annually. They also said he had been making up to $300,000, including bonuses, with the Irish.

“My wife, Ava, and I couldn’t be more grateful and excited to join the Trojan Family,” Bowden said in a statement. “Jen Cohen, Lincoln Riley and USC’s total commitment to excellence make this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This is a place with the resources, facilities and support to build a perennial winner, and I’m excited to get to work to help bring more national championships to USC.”

Bowden just completed his fourth season at Notre Dame, first as the program’s general manager. He previously served as director of recruiting during the 2022 and 2023 seasons before earning a promotion to assistant athletic director for player personnel in March. Over the summer, his title was changed to general manager after Michigan tried to poach him for a front office position.

“Chad is elite at what he does,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman told reporters in the spring. “The opportunity for him to lead our entire personnel staff is, to me, something that is earned. He’s earned that right and is doing a great job. He does such a good job at what he does. That’s not just connecting with recruits but planning, leading a group of people and evaluations. 

Bowden has been a linchpin to Notre Dame football’s success on the recruiting trail and transfer portal. He has been the program’s architect, achieving three top-11 recruiting classes from 2022-2024, a mark the Irish had not attained since 2006-08. During those three years, Notre Dame landed the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 4 classes, respectively.

Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class ranks No. 12 in the 2025 Industry Ranking Football Team Recruiting Rankings. Its team ranking will be finalized once the four primary recruiting services release their final prospect rankings later this winter. 

Last offseason, Bowden spearheaded the team’s presence in the transfer portal, helping build the No. 15 class in the 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. His acquisitions were pivotal in the Irish reaching the national championship. 

Bowden helped the Irish assemble a transfer portal class of eight players this offseason. Notre Dame is also pacing well in the 2026 high school recruiting cycle. The Irish currently rank No. 10 in the team rankings. 

Freeman named Bowden the program’s director of recruiting in February 2022. Bowden previously served as the program’s defensive director of recruiting for one season. Freeman brought Bowden from the University of Cincinnati after accepting Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator position in 2021. 

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