August 1, 2025
By John Talty, CBS Sports: No position in college football has gained more value over the past five years than general manager. From booming salaries that now reach into seven figures to former NFL GMs and head coaches joining the ranks — and even celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal taking on honorary roles — the position has grown significantly in attention, stature and staffing.
Unlike the professional ranks, where the general manager role is mostly uniform, how college programs empower GMs differs dramatically from school to school. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart recently summed up the challenge of even defining the role.
“What does a general manager do, in your mind? I think it varies from organization to organization,” Smart said. “We have people that do various things instead of pinpointing the general manager, because I think if I ask every coach what their general manager does, they all do something different. So, I mean, I can’t figure out what you define it as, because when you ask me what is a general manager, I want to know what you think it does, because in the NFL they do [it] different than what they do at all.”
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