While it’s not a surprise considering how long the talk of James Blanchard lasted, it appears Plan A fell through for the Notre Dame football team.
There was a time when it felt like the Irish were about to nail down their replacement for Chad Bowden, the GM who left for USC and who burned all the bridges once he got to the other side of this heated rivalry. However, on Friday morning, reports started circling the social media sphere that Blanchard decided to stick with Texas Tech.
That means it’s back to the drawing board for the Notre Dame football program. It’s also a bit of a surprise for no other reason than the Irish are used to getting their man when they really set their sights on someone.
Notre Dame football moves onto Plan B for General Manager position
If there is one area where the Irish are having some struggles of late, its in the “front office” of their recruiting efforts. Not only did they lose Bowden to USC but he plucked recruiting staffer Zaire Tuner shortly after he defected to Los Angeles.
It’s unclear exactly where Notre Dame is going to turn at this point. Blanchard is considered one of the brightest minds in the business. So was Bowden for that matter, despite Fighting Irish detractors claiming he was eminently replaceable after the fact.
Marcus Freeman has long made it clear that his approach to recruiting is different than it has been in South Bend prior to his arrival. That requires the Notre Dame football staff to have a top notch GM. Whether Blanchard simply wanted to stay home, or if there was something that set off alarm bells during his talks with the program is something that will need to be sussed out before the program makes its next hire.