The general manager is quickly growing in stature across the college football landscape and nobody in Texas exemplifies the movement more than James Blanchard, who sources confirm is the leader to land the GM position at Notre Dame after serving in that role for Texas Tech since Joey McGuire arrived at the end of the 2021 season. Blanchard hasn't made his final decision and Texas Tech will try and keep him in Lubbock, sources tell Dave Campbell's Texas Football. 

Blanchard was the first person McGuire hired when he became head coach in Lubbock and has become a posterchild for modern day recruiting. He was given more autonomy than talent evaluators were in the past by McGuire at Tech, offering players without the approval of the offensive and defensive coordinators – something relatively unheard of in past generations of football staffs. 

Blanchard helped Tech sign back-to-back Top 25 recruiting classes and recently land one of the best portal groups in America during the spring window. While small, the current 2025 class is tied for second in the Big 12 with five four-star commits and third in average rating per commit behind Colorado and UCF. 

The in-house candidate to replace Blanchard would be current Director of Player Personnel Brian Nance, who worked closely with McGuire and Blanchard to construct the current Red Raiders roster. He was originally the Director of Scouting at Texas Tech and followed McGuire to Lubbock from Baylor. He was a three-year letterwinner at Baylor with 38 appearances and 10 starts along the defensive line from 2014-17. 

Tech could also go national with its search for Blanchard’s replacement. The Red Raiders went all-in in the transfer portal in the winter window and see a route to the Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff in 2025 and beyond. Expect McGuire to scour the ranks for a possible replacement. 247Sports was first to report.