The San Francisco Gulf region cannot be the first region that comes to meditation when considering the future of college football. But as a program restructuring to reflect a newly defined era of professionalism in sports, it is Cal and Stanford that can best describe the game.
In Stanford, shift started two months before Landmark House V. NCAA The ruling that allows universities to designate athletes as employees. In March, as the university examined the behavior of former head coach Troy Taylor, it was not the outgoing athletic director Bernard Muir, who led the public-support response. It was the legendary cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck.
In particular, it was Andrew Luck in his newly created role as Stanford Football General Manager.
On March 25, the media appeared in front of the media to declare Taylor’s dismissal. A week later, he told him as a new face of the program by his former head coach, sitting next to the interim head coach Frank Reich -Indianapolis Colts.
By bringing her former NFL coach to lead her Alma Mater, luck became a symbol of the developed structure of the game. In this new era of college football, once-worthy head coach-The most powerful person in an athletic department, if not in the entire university or state-will have to share that power with a general manager.
In Stanford, it can be symbolic. But across the Gulf on Cal, it is already on.
When Cal Athletic director Jim Noleton announced his retirement in June, an ESPN.com report stated in an detail: Justin Wilcox, the head coach of the Golden Bear, will now report to GM Ron Riviera.
Pete Thamel’s ESPN report comes after two months Sfgate Said that Cal Buster pushed for this accurate change. After the end of 6-7 in the ACC debut of the program and the roster in a roster through the transfer portal, the bear is in the reconstruction mode – and the decision to give a major axis to the riviera control signals.
Riviera, like luck, is a calc alum. And like luck, he returned to his Alma Mater with a broad NFL experience. He appears to be an important qualification for the most powerful new role of the game in roster-building under the obstacles of a professional background-cap-especially a pay cap.
Really, House V. NCAA The loop closed only on a change, which began in 2021 with the arrival of name, image and equality (NIL) rights and comfortable transfer rules. The college football landscape now looks like NFL now with amateurism.
Nebraska’s head coach Matt Rule said the same on the podcast of Greg McLaroy earlier this week. A former NFL head coach with Carolina Panthers, Rule underlined the importance of building a roster within financial obstacles – a skill honored in professionals. This is the reason why he turned to Pat Stewart, a long -time associate, working in the front office of Panthers to work as GM of Nebraska.
The setup in Lincoln is slightly different from Cal and Stanford. In Nebraska, RHULE hired his own general manager. The same is true in Northern Carolina, where the new mint head coach and future hall of Famer Bill Belichic brought Michael Lombardi to serve as GM.
Belichic, of course, was learned from Bill Parsels, who said famous: “If they want you want to cook dinner, at least they should let them shop for some grocery items.”
That quote fulfills the present moment. While General Manager College Football’s head coaches will not erase the off-field influence, Stanford and Cal’s cases clarify this: GM is not a formal title.
This is a state of power – and it is to live here.
