The GM role at Notre Dame brings with it unique challenges

Notre Dame is unlike any other “power” football program that competes for national championships. Not better, not worse, just different in many ways.

From the intimate setting of the private religious institution, to Independence, test scores mattering, grades being crucial, and actually requiring football players to be real students, the Irish must operate differently than many elite football operations.

The GM role at Notre Dame isn’t for everybody. Marcus Freeman isn’t kidding when he speaks about “choosing hard” for those who are interested in joining the program.

Those playing, coaching, and working for this program must embrace the unique challenges that come with life and football in South Bend. Whoever decides to take this position after Chad Bowden’s departure for Southern California sunshine must be fully prepared to hit the ground running.

Notre Dame’s recruiting operation has not reached its potential yet in the Freeman era

The GM role at Notre Dame is somewhat all-encompassing. From roster construction and calculating scholarship numbers to navigating the wild modern world of NIL spending and portal additions and subtractions, there’s a lot to manage before we even discuss the lifeblood of the program, traditional recruiting.

This is an area where the next GM for the Irish can make the biggest impact. Finding a way to get Notre Dame into truly “elite” recruiting territory defined as having classes inside the top 10 every year.

Recruiting rankings are not the end-all be-all in college football, but can anyone honestly tell me they believe the disparity between Ohio State’s 14 five-star players to Notre Dame’s one didn’t impact the outcome of the title game?

Elite high-school recruiting is Notre Dame’s most obvious path to getting from playing in the title game to winning the title game. The new GM will be tasked with achieving this while honoring all things Notre Dame values educationally and morally.

This isn’t an easy task, but if done correctly, “choosing hard” will be rewarded with the ultimate prize, Notre Dame’s next championship.