Insider shows how GM-head coach dynamics have completely changed college football

College football has seen plenty of changes through the years, but the last couple have been noticeable, from conference realignment to playoff expansion. However, another big change is NIL and the transfer portal, which has led college teams to be run similarly to NFL teams.

With that, programs are now hiring coaches and general managers, which college football insider Josh Pate says has changed the sport.

On Sunday's episode of the "Josh Pate’s College Football Show," he said:

"Being able to see from 50,000 feet, having working knowledge of all the facets of college football, that is what makes a good GM. How important is a GM? It's a solid seven and rising, and some would argue it's already a 10 in a 1-10 scale." (26:00)

"Chad Bowden at USC came there from Notre Dame, Andrew Luck the GM at Stanford now, Jim Nagy went from running the Senior Bowl to being the general manager at Oklahoma. Big time moves in college football."

Pate said that in the past, the head coach used to do all the recruiting and all the major decisions for the program. However, he says teams adding a general manager now answer to the athletic director and could outlive the head coach.

"We are entering a world now where the general manager will outlive a head coach, especially in a situation like Oklahoma or USC," Pate said. ...

"If you hire a guy like Jim Nagy and you have a head coach who's two or three years in, let's say two years later the coach is not putting up results that is not good enough and it's time to make a change, Jim Nagy isn't going anywhere, Brent Venables is. Then, you start talking like you do in the Sunday game, like is Jim Nagy going to go hire his guy."

Not every college football team has a general manager, but Pate thinks that will change as a general manager is becoming an important position in college football.

Which college football teams have recently hired GMs?

The general manager position in college football is growing and several high-profile schools have hired a position.

Here's a list of the high-profile schools that have hired a college football GM this season:

• Oklahoma: Jim Nagy
• North Carolina: Michael Lombardi
• Notre Dame: Mike Martin
• USC: Chad Bowden
• Nebraska: Patrick Stewart

The 2025 season will kick off on August 23 for Week 0.