No one is really in charge of college football right now between the NCAA, politicians, TV networks and Power Four conferences. But that lack of hierarchy could soon seep down throughout the rest of college football.
College football programs around the country, including the Oklahoma Sooners, have hired general managers to control their rosters as big-time programs are transitioning to be ran more like NFL franchises.
OU recently hired Jim Nagy as its new GM. At the beginning of the university's announcement, OU briefly described Nagy's responsibilities as "work alongside the head football coach to construct a roster capable of competing at a championship level."
The release went on to say, "Nagy will lead OU's roster management and talent acquisition, including player recruitment, evaluation, retention, and compensation as part of his duties. He also will manage the impact of rules governing name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal process, revenue-share allocation, scholarship limits, and eligibility requirements."
With that wording, Nagy and head coach Brent Venables would be equals. Nagy's job is to help Venables find the best talent, and Venables' job is to use that talent to win football games. And Nagy echoed this during his first press conference, never sounding as if any of his responsibilities included staffing, other than in his own office.
That seemed to be the agreement around the country, with general managers solely in charge of roster management. But on Tuesday, with Stanford football coach Troy Taylor being investigated for allegedly mistreating staffers, it was general manager Andrew Luck who announced he was firing Taylor.
“Since beginning my role as general manager, I have been thoroughly assessing the entire Stanford football program,” Luck said in a statement. “It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change. Additionally, in recent days, there has been significant attention to Stanford investigations in previous years related to coach Taylor. After continued consideration it is evident to me that our program needs a reset. In consultation with university leadership I no longer believe that coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program.”
If Luck is the one firing the head coach, then that means his role as GM is above the football coach, especially if he'll also be the one leading the search to find Stanford's next coach. The guy who hires you is usually your boss, after all.
Stanford's announcement of Luck's hiring read, "Luck will be tasked with overseeing the Cardinal Football program, including working with Coach Taylor on recruiting and roster management, and with athletics and university leadership on fundraising, alumni relations, sponsorships, student-athlete support, and stadium experience."
The biggest difference between Stanford and OU is that Stanford said early on, "Luck will oversee all aspects of the Cardinal Football program," not emphasizing just the roster, although that was also later mentioned. However, Stanford did say "working with" the coach.
OU specifically mentioned its GM role "allows for the general manager and head football coach to work side-by-side in partnership, each focusing on a specific area of expertise."
As of now, at least on paper, it's clear Nagy and Venables are simply co-workers at OU, both reporting to athletic director Joe Castiglione. However, until Luck made the move on Tuesday, no other college football program had been in that situation with a GM in place.
This could be a more serious question in Norman if Venables' team again struggles this upcoming season. Even if it's not Nagy doing the firing but Castiglione, wouldn't OU still want Nagy's input during the hiring search? And would Nagy still be asked for his thoughts about whether the Sooners should keep Venables or move on?
In the NFL, general managers run the show, from the roster, up to the head coach. And that model is what OU has specifically said it's trying to mimic. Nagy even plans to add more people with NFL experience to his staff, who will be used to firing coaches if they're not utilizing talent well enough.
OU hit a home run with its hire of Nagy, but if he really is going to change the direction of the football program, will he one day need to do more than what's in his job description?