Chad Bowden hasn’t shown much in the way of respect for Notre Dame football since he took the USC job.
It’s not very often that you see someone like Chad Bowden, who by all accounts, was dealt with respectfully and paid a great sum of money by Notre Dame football, torch his former bosses the way he has since landing at USC. Bowden burned some serious bridges when he first appeared with the Trojans and then apparently decided he wanted to throw some lighter fluid on the smoldering ashes earlier this week, just to make sure.
Perhaps it’s because he comes from USC’s hated rival that he’s felt the need to show he’s all in. Maybe it’s the nature of his job that he has to show recruits he really believes he’s in a better place. Whatever the reason, it feels like the former Irish GM will be met at the South Bend city limits and chased – Mad Max style – back away from the Notre Dame campus if he ever tried to stage a homecoming.
Bowden’s latest comments weren’t just about badmouthing Notre Dame football, but seemed to be a personal shot at his former boss, head coach Marcus Freeman in speaking about his new boss, Lincoln Riley: “He is, as a recruiter, the best I’ve ever been around. There’s two elements of recruiting. This is the first head coach I’ve been around who evaluates (prospects). So when I say recruiting, this is a guy who wholistically can do it all.”
USC GM Chad Bowden on HC Lincoln Riley:
“He is, as a recruiter, the best I’ve ever been around. There’s two elements of recruiting. This is the first head coach I’ve been around who evaluates (prospects). So when I say recruiting, this is a guy who wholistically can do it all.”
— Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals) March 3, 2025
Shots fired at Notre Dame football from USC
If he’d left it at “best recruiter,” it would be easy to dismiss Bowden’s comments as simply selling his new boss. He could have just been showing he was all in at the Los Angeles program.
USC FB GM Chad Bowden:
“We’re going to take the most HS kids this place has ever taken this year. … We’re gonna recruit the most guys we ever have. I’ve never been a part of what we’re about to do when it comes to how many guys we’re going to take.”
— Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals) March 3, 2025
But the idea that Marcus Freeman doesn’t evaluate talent, that he’s not a recruiter at all, it’s a personal shot. Even if it’s true, even if Freeman allows others to do the minutiae, it’s the kind of spilling the beans on the inner workings that is more than business as usual.
It’s another surprising comment coming from a guy who seemed to be all in when he was with the Notre Dame football program. And maybe that last part is something Trojans fans should be cognizant of as he keeps talking. Is this a guy who anyone should believe?
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