James Blanchard spurns Notre Dame to return to Texas Tech, and it ended up having nothing to do with money
Notre Dame received some disappointing news on Friday morning when James Blanchard decided to turn down the offer to be the next general manager for the Fighting Irish. Blanchard has opted to return to Texas Tech instead, and remain in his GM position there. When Notre Dame fans shake off the initial disappointment of the […]
Notre Dame received some disappointing news on Friday morning when James Blanchard decided to turn down the offer to be the next general manager for the Fighting Irish. Blanchard has opted to return to Texas Tech instead, and remain in his GM position there.
When Notre Dame fans shake off the initial disappointment of the news, the search for meaning is typically what comes next. Why would someone want to stay in Lubbock when they have all of the support that the Irish program can provide? The thing people initially speculate on is money.
Most people know that the money runs deep with the Texas Tech program. They are a team that has been flexing their money in the transfer portal this offseason, and isn’t afraid to open up the checkbook. Maybe that’s what happened here?
The easy answer is no.
It was reported by ESPN that Blanchard is receiving a new 3-year, $1.575 million contract to remain with the Red Raiders. That is roughly a $100,000 pay bump from what he was making previously. Those numbers are also far less than what Notre Dame was reportedly offering.
In short, this decision wasn’t about money. There was a lot more to it than that. Regardless of the reasoning, it was a tough blow for Notre Dame. They missed out on a tremendous talent evaluator.
Considered to be one of the rising stars in the college football personnel world, Blanchard has seen a dramatic uptick in his reputation over the last couple of years. It isn’t a surprise that this isn’t the first time that Notre Dame has demonstrated interest.
After spending multiple stops in the Baylor director of scouting position, and a brief stint with the Carolina Panthers, Blanchard just finished up his third overall season with the Texas Tech program, and second as their general manager. That program is lucky to have him.
So where does Notre Dame go from here? They already have a list of other candidates that they are working off of. Marcus Freeman and his staff will land on their feet, but this unfortunate detour wasn’t ideal.
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