The USC Trojans and Lincoln Riley have hired Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden as USC Football’s general manager. Bowden is fresh off helping the Fighting Irish to a National Championship run who excels in Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) deals, the transfer portal and high school recruiting.

The USC Trojans and Lincoln Riley have hired Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden as USC Football’s general manager. Bowden is fresh off helping the Fighting Irish to a National Championship run and is a nationally renowned college football administrator who excels in Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) deals, the transfer portal and high school recruiting.

USC offered Bowden a multi-year deal worth $1 million annually – a big raise from his current reported salary of $270,000-$300,000 according to John Brice of Football Scoop.

Bowden was originally hired at Notre Dame as defensive coordinator alongside coach Marcus Freeman in 2021. The Michigan Wolverines tried to hire Bowden in 2024 but he turned down the offer and instead took the promotion at Notre Dame to become GM.

“We are very excited to welcome Chad Bowden to our staff,” said Riley. “His outstanding body of work in recruiting and roster management is recognized throughout the country. With the support of Jen Cohen and the administration, Chad’s hire is both vital to the future of our program and sends a strong message about the direction of USC Football. We’re excited for him to arrive and hit the ground running.”

Bowden was able to land two highly-touted transfer portal quarterbacks for the Fighting Irish in Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard.

Notre Dame and Bowden are fresh off a run to the 2024-25 National Championship game, in which the Fighting Irish lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 34-23.

“My wife, Ava, and I couldn’t be more grateful and excited to join the Trojan Family,” Bowden said. “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 helped construct four unanimously ranked Top-12 recruiting classes from 2022-2025. In 2023, Bowden’s transfer portal efforts helped Notre Dame land the No. 15 class in the On3 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

The Trojans could use some major help in the transfer portal as their 2025 transfer class ranks No. 67 in the nation and second to last in the Big Ten, trailing only Purdue. USC has seen 21 players enter the portal, including key contributions from this past season, receivers Zachariah Branch, Duce Robinson and Kyron Hudson, and offensive linemen Emmanuel Pregnon and Mason Murphy.

General manager runs in Bowden’s family. Bowden’s father, Jim Bowden, is the former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. When he stepped into the role in 1992, Bowden, 31, became the youngest general manager in the history of Major League Baseball at the time.

“The Trojan Family is thrilled to welcome Chad and his wife Ava to USC,” said Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics Jen Cohen. “Chad is the perfect fit to help us build and sustain a championship-level football program in the new era of college athletics. His work and expertise will be essential in the construction and management of our roster, the elevation of our robust NIL program and the organization of our entire football operations. Combined with USC’s competitive resources and growing support, adding a general manager of Chad’s caliber and pedigree to our staff is a vital step toward fully realizing this program’s enormous potential, and I am eager to work with him and Coach Riley to add to USC’s unparalleled legacy of Heisman winners, All-Americans and national champions.”