Aggressive Visionary Chad Bowden Quickly Remakes USC’s Recruiting/Operational Focus

USC’s new GM convinced Trojans are ‘sleeping giant’ of college football

Chad Bowden is convinced he can help make USC the "most aggressive" college football program in the NIL era.

Chad Bowden is convinced he can help make USC the “most aggressive” college football program in the NIL era, and he sees no potential conflict with Lincoln Riley. “We’re all in this together.”  (USC Athletics)

Ryan Kartje (LA Times)  —  When he lived in Los Angeles before, Chad Bowden worked at one point as a telemarketer. He was 18 at the time, making calls for a Google ad services company based out of the Flynt Building in Beverly Hills. Every day, hundreds of times per day, people on the other line would find colorful ways to share how unhappy they were to hear from him.

It was a thankless job. For a while, it wore him down emotionally. But “it was the greatest experience,” he says.

Turns out, as Bowden learned later, it was perfect training for a career in major college football.

“Because I’m so used to people telling me no,” Bowden says, “and trying to get them to say yes.

That conviction is part of the reason why Bowden has risen so quickly through the front-office ranks and why USC made him one of the highest-paid personnel directors in the nation in late January, plucking him for Notre Dame with a seven-figure salary.

But at USC, he hasn’t had to do much convincing in his first six weeks. Since his first conversations with coach Lincoln Riley and athletic director Jennifer Cohen, it was made clear to Bowden that they believed in his vision for what USC could become — and would provide the resources to make it happen.

USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen sits a podium surrounded by USC logos and speaks to mediaChad Bowden calls Jen Cohen the best AD in the country, and “a friggin’ animal.

Bowden explained Cohen basically landed him with her initial video call, “the best two-hour conversation,” he said. “She’s a phenomenal recruiter, but she’s been even better since I’ve been here. She’s the best I’ve ever been around. The best!”

Those factors weren’t always in his full control at Notre Dame.

“I knew I was coming to USC when, in an hour’s time span, I spoke to Jen and Lincoln and had voiced my aspirations and what I believe college football is going to be and how aggressive I’d like to be in that new era,” Bowden said. “They shared a lot of the same thoughts as I did.”

“That’s a huge reason as to why I chose to leave a great situation. Because I felt like this was better.” Bowden also added that Cohen basically landed him for USC with her initial video call, “the best two-hour conversation,” he said. “She’s a phenomenal recruiter, but she’s been even better since I’ve been here. She’s the best I’ve ever been around. The best!”

His arrival at USC has since been heralded as one of the biggest moves of the college football offseason to date. But while Cohen and Riley have raved about their new general manager, no one seems happier about these new circumstances than Bowden.

Every morning, he says, he looks into his closet stocked with cardinal and gold apparel and has to pinch himself.

I always felt like USC was the sleeping giant of college football,” Bowden said, “and I remember thinking if I ever got that opportunity, deep down, I’d want to take it because I know what this place can do.”

He’s been thrilled with Cohen, whom he called both “a friggin’ animal” and the “best [athletic director] in the country.” He’s overjoyed with Riley, whom he says “can do it all,” including grilling up a mean balsamic steak, one Bowden was still thinking about weeks later.

Where there were concerns in the past about USC having enough resources to compete with other blue bloods, Bowden says he has no such worry.

USC “won’t be slowed down” by the new era of revenue sharing, he assured. And its NIL approach would be among “the most aggressive” in the country.

“USC has everything,” he says. “There’s not one thing that this place doesn’t have. This is the place to be. There’s nothing. I keep hearing about, it’s hard or it’s tough or whatever. I’ve been to some different places. I walk around (here) every day and I’m like, ‘Man, this is incredible.’”

What USC football lacked was a vision — and the necessary infrastructure — to keep up in the incoming era of revenue-sharing in college football. But since Bowden’s arrival, USC has put a tremendous amount of trust in its new general manager to fill in those blanks.

That’s led naturally to questions about the dynamics around the new general manager role. Bowden “technically reports” to both Riley and Cohen. But he shrugged off any suggestion of a potential “power struggle”.

“We’re all in this together,” Bowden said. “I’ve always viewed it that way.”

Already, the plans Bowden laid out in those calls with Cohen and Riley are starting to come to fruition. Bowden has stocked the front office with rising star personnel staffers that he worked with at both Notre Dame and Cincinnati, three of which — Dre Brown, Max Stienecker and Weston Zernechel — Bowden said were general managers in their own right.

The focus since has almost entirely been on the recruiting trail, where in recent years, Riley has spent a lot of time chasing big-time prospects outside of the state, many of whom ended up flipping to local schools late in the process. But that approach has been scrapped since Bowden’s arrival, as USC now plans to focus most of its effort on recruiting Southern California.

“Back when national championships were won here, when Rose Bowls were won here, you know, you look back at Pete Carroll’s classes — ‘02, ‘03, ‘04 — over 80% of the recruiting classes were from the state of California,” Bowden said. “History repeats itself. It always does. And if you look into the fine details of how programs are built and how the place was built and when success had happened, that was a key part of USC being on top. My plans and my vision is to bring that back and take care of the state.”

It’s an important time to start seriously recruiting the state, considering the wealth of talent in the 2026 class. Bowden said he believes it’s “the best class that California has had in two decades.”

With that in mind, he has spent the better part of the past 30 days dropping by local high schools and meeting with the sport’s local powerbrokers. He prefers to say he’s “enhancing” those local ties, rather than “restoring” them; though, it’s clear in recent years that they’d faded.

“We’re going to take care of those people and they’re going to know that we’re here,” Bowden said. “That’s not done over one call. That’s not a text message every day. It’s done through consistent communication and action.”

A new general manager and new vision won’t change a program overnight on their own either. But as Bowden sees it, USC is “a lot closer than people think.”

As for the remaining distance? Bowden seems content to carry USC himself.

“I’m gonna give every ounce of me to whatever is necessary for USC to win,” Bowden said. “Whatever this place needs, I’m gonna do it.”

latimes.com

___________

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Trojanfanatic
Noble Genius
Trojanfanatic
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March 6, 2025 5:37 pm

Chad Bowden and staff appears to have the juice to turn one of our weakest facets into one of our strongest. The confidence, the focus, and seems to square his shoulders to challenges he’s inheriting. He has some hurdles as we’ve discussed here with frustration over the last several years. We’ve had some pretty bad press nationally covering the usual topics like disinterest in defense ( I think solved), a soft program approach, game management issues, and of course LRs recruiting limits ( not focusing in CA, line positions, etc). Chad Bowden really needs some help here. We talk about… Read more »

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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March 6, 2025 11:10 am

They say that under this new administration that they keep on hiring, they are going to bring in a lot of players this year because you can now have 105 people on scholarship as opposed to 85 previously. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest classes SC has ever had. Of course, you want to get the best players out there that want to come to SC. But in this situation, it’s important to have analysts who are really good at evaluating talent and seeing potential. They say that they are probably going to bring in 30 or 31… Read more »

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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March 6, 2025 12:24 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Agreed….the best players do stand out. But many players have reached their highest potential in their senior year of high school while others haven’t even come close to maturing as a high school senior. I remember when I was coaching, we had one kid that was about 3rd string and not playing much. Then I saw him do something on just one play and I said to myself that there is not another kid on this team that could have made that play as he did. I talked to our HC about it and he decided to move him up.… Read more »

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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March 7, 2025 2:23 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

SC is definitely going in the right direction

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 6, 2025 12:13 pm
Reply to  parcelman007

For 2026, 247 Sports has 29 five* and 379 four* players listed, 408 total. That’s a lotta tape and games to evaluate. So far SC has 11 commits, 1 five, 6 fours and 4 threes.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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March 7, 2025 7:50 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

With most of this coming recruiting class from California, I feel better Bowman’s team & the coaches have a better chance to keep the recruits from bolting as NSD comes about. It also gives us the time to build relationships & trust with the players. I am counting on this making a big difference versus how it was the past two seasons.

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 5, 2025 3:58 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Ate there once maybe 10 years ago or so. Great Ole Timey Cafe vibe.

ATL D.D.S.
Major Genius
ATL D.D.S.
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March 6, 2025 5:59 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Amen brother! Another example of stupid union leadership pushing their membership into a corner where it is win or die. The Pantry workers just died because ownership decided to close up. This is how Los Angeles and also California continues to implode. Sad.

TrojanRon
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TrojanRon
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March 6, 2025 4:13 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Used to go there after staff meetings in downtown LA for Arthur Young & Co, CPAs from 1979-1984. Sometimes a group of us would not hit the place until after midnight, but the food was always good. It was a “go-to” place of mine, just like the original Tommy’s Burgers and El Tepeyak Cafe in East LA.

ATL D.D.S.
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ATL D.D.S.
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March 6, 2025 6:03 am
Reply to  TrojanRon

Ah, Tommy’s…. Two double chili cheese burgers and a bottled strawberry soda i grabbed from the big chest cooler. $2.25 was all it cost back then–amazing!

ATL D.D.S.
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ATL D.D.S.
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March 6, 2025 6:48 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Couple of my fraternity brothers would bartend at Moonshadows. Wouldn’t be surprised if you knew guys who did the same. Was sad to hear of it’s demise thanks to the Bass-Newsom fires.

When I started in ’76, I think the unit cost for undergrad had soared to $105!

TrojanRon
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TrojanRon
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March 17, 2025 5:16 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

The unit cost when I started in the Fall of 1973 was something like $76. I was fortunate enough to have earned some cash awards for my singing in high school that paid tuition for my first two years. I commuted from my hometown of Glendale, CA for both undergraduate and graduate school for a total of 6 years. My grandmother helped me with the last 4 years tuition and I worked part-time as an appliance repairman to pay for books, car gas and the trips to Tommy’s.

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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March 5, 2025 12:05 pm

SC has lost a number of players through de-commitment but that might be a good thing.Some of those players are just mercenaries. They are in it for the money and not much else. Bear Alexander certainly was. Losing him was good for the program. Players want to get good money for their services and that is understandable. But when the player is in it just for the money, you’re probably going to waste time developing him only to have him go somewhere else next year.The time you spent with him is wasted if you never get the benefits of it… Read more »

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 5, 2025 12:35 pm
Reply to  parcelman007

007 have you ever taken a job because you needed the money? Some of these guys have families who need support, wife, kids, parents, siblings, grandparents. The pressure for them to make some quick money might be intense. The trouble is if they go for the short term quick bucks, in 4 years they may find themselves with no money, no degree and no career.

PN4SC
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PN4SC
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March 5, 2025 3:33 pm
Reply to  Golden Trojan

I am with Parcel on this one. Guys that come only for the money usually are more trouble than they are worth. Bear was an enormous Knucklehead, and a locker room cancer.He left behind a big stench. These players deserve to be paid their market values, but money shouldn’t be the only consideration. With Bowden making the calls, I am confident we will avoid the Bear Alexander of the future, and concentrate on guys that want to be hear, and get paid. Let the fools that played for 4 high schools in 4 years go to Oregon, Miami, etc.

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 5, 2025 3:55 pm
Reply to  PN4SC

I wouldn’t want those guys on my team either. As you said, that’s up to Bowden to weed those guys out. I just try to understand the players side who may have immediate responsibilities weighing on him.

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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March 6, 2025 2:31 am
Reply to  Golden Trojan

I guess that all depends on the player and the money he needs to live comfortably and the key word there is comfortably. If they are offering me $600,000 to play for a team I grew up loving which is close to home and in great weather and another team on the other side of the country offers me $700,000…..I’m a simple man……I live a simple life…..It doesn’t take that much to make me comfortable. And as you produce, that amount will go up. Now, if you want to live like the Sultan of Dubar then maybe you should go… Read more »

ATL D.D.S.
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ATL D.D.S.
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March 6, 2025 6:51 am
Reply to  parcelman007

Ha! “The Sultan of Dubai!” Hilarious, P7!

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 5, 2025 12:32 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I don’t care that there is no Spring Game, never went to them. If it increases the chance USC loses some talent by having it, let it go. The most important goal in college football now is making the top 12 or soon to be 14 or 16. That will get you fan support. Why play a difficult game out of conference if you don’t have to especially late in the season?

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 5, 2025 3:51 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

So I’m guessing your great schedule would be open with Texas, then travel to Clemson and finish the regular season with Oregon on the road, UCLA and then ND, even if that meant key injuries and getting knocked out of the playoffs. I would keep ND but always play it in mid October. You don’t have to play Missouri St or Georgia Southern. instead play a low end Big 12 or ACC. Getting to the conference championship game and then the playoffs, healthy, is the most important thing.

ATL D.D.S.
Major Genius
ATL D.D.S.
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March 6, 2025 6:59 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I may have to take my GaSo alumna daughter to that early game at SC. She is such a loudmouth and swears like a sailor (gosh I wonder where she got that?), I ‘m afraid that she will embarass the family up there in those hi-roller seats under the press box where my Dad has tickets. Probably will need to go…. Hope we crush Gentlemen Clay….

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
March 6, 2025 10:39 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Yeah, mostly messing with ya. You are right the MO ST and GA SO openers is a bit much. The season really won’t start till mid to late September.
This debate about non conference schedule will continue I’m sure. I did think of something over night in your favor. If a team has a big game coming out of the gate that may light a fire under everyone in fall camp. But, if you have cupcakes till late September, fall camp may be a little lackluster.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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March 4, 2025 12:00 pm

Bowden says it and I thought it these past two years after seeing LRs results in recruiting: USC won championships through Jones, McKay, Robinson & Carroll with mostly California athletes. And somehow it didn’t register in LRs brain who came in here determined to recruit players outside the State. We cannot blame Helton for this gaffe in ignoring California athletes. This was all LRs doing. He and he alone alienated local pipelines.

Tirebitter
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Tirebitter
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March 4, 2025 2:02 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Yes, this is great news. However, I can’t help but to think about how SC is paying some $10mm a year for LR, and now we have to bolster recruiting and add employees as he hasn’t been very good at it? Huh?

This wouldn’t happen in a large public company. You carry the load or you are out!

illinoisusc
Major Genius
illinoisusc
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March 4, 2025 9:32 pm
Reply to  Tirebitter

In this case…..the program carries the load and then he is out.

Steveg
Major Genius
Steveg
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March 5, 2025 1:55 pm
Reply to  Jamaica

There in the beginning of the NIL USC took a back seat to recruiting players using money to get them committed. Remember how many So Cal players visited USC and strung them along, only to sign with the school with the money bags available. Riley of course was slow in coming around, but then USC was slow in providing the financial means to compete for the 4 and 5 star So Cal players. All of a sudden USC now has the money, is using it to compete, and players are interested in coming, the 2026 class was turning this way… Read more »

Steveg
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Steveg
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March 6, 2025 10:24 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Like many on here say, he is just about out of excuses and I tend to agree. I am always the optimist with the highest expectations. It would really be great to see a coach of Riley’s caliber become the HC we all want him to be. Lets hope he continues to grow up like all us old farts on here.😂