The Notre Dame football team made a deep run in the College Football Playoff as they made it all the way to the national championship. Unfortunately for the Fighting Irish, they came up a little short as they lost to Ohio State on the biggest stage. Anytime a team has a run like Notre Dame's, it means they have a great staff, and departures are expected. However, departing to a rival is different. Notre Dame general manager Chad Bowden took the same job at USC, and now the Fighting Irish are looking to hire James Blanchard from Texas Tech.

“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.”

A lot of people have a lot of good things to say about James Blanchard. Blanchard was hired by current Texas Tech football head coach Joey McGuire, and he has always showered Blanchard with praise.

“The two things that stick out to me for James Blanchard — one is eye for talent, how he evaluates, but (also) the way he connects and builds relationships at the same time,” McGuire said back in 2022, according to an article from 247 Sports. “… I've seen a lot of evaluators and they have personalities of cardboard. I've seen guys that are not great evaluators but are phenomenal at creating relationships. That dude has it all.”

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It sounds like Notre Dame has a chance to get a good one, but it will be interesting to see what Texas Tech does to try to keep James Blanchard around. McGuire and the rest of the program seem to love him, and they know that he is a valuable asset to the program.

This would be a great get for the Notre Dame football team after losing Bowden. That move was a bit of a surprise, but it could end up being a good thing for the Fighting Irish in the long run.

Notre Dame has a bit of rebuilding to do with their staff and roster as they have lost some important parts of this 2024 squad, but it still doesn't seem like the Fighting Irish are going anywhere. They should be a College Football Playoff contender once again in 2025.