Sometimes, the moves made in the shadows aren’t on the field but in the offices—and they can be just as polarizing. The post Chad Bowden Lands in Hot Water After Bold USC Statement Appears as a Dig at Notre Dame appeared first on EssentiallySports.

A key piece of Notre Dame’s support staff is reportedly following former Fighting Irish general manager Chad Bowden to USC. Notre Dame director of player personnel Zaire Turner is headed to Los Angeles for a similar job with the Trojans,

“Notre Dame is targeting Texas Tech’s James Blanchard for its new general manager position, sources tell me and @TomLoy247 for @CBSSports/@247Sports,” Matt Zenitz said in a post. “At Texas Tech, Blanchard has become of the nation’s most respected college front office figures.”

Bowden played a huge role in reshaping Notre Dame's approach to talent acquisition. Can he do the same at USC?

Notre Dame signed just one player from California in its 2025 recruiting class, but it was heralded linebacker Madden Faraimo, who spurned nearby USC.

If it seems like Notre Dame is losing a lot of key pieces of its team as defensive coordinator al golden and key players like Pat Coogan depart, it’s also important to remember that the Irish raked in a lot of money from the deep playoff run and have intriguing transfers coming in.

Freeman made an extended run to snag Blanchard away from Texas Tech before the Red Raiders at the time awarded Blanchard with one of college football's top dea