Looking to make history at Texas Tech, GM James Blanchard turned down Notre Dame
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Although Texas Tech GM James Blanchard had the opportunity to go elsewhere, he opted to sign a new deal with the Red Raiders and remain in Lubbock. While other programs like Notre Dame can offer more on-field success in a high-profile role, Blanchard came to appreciate the opportunity to make history with Texas Tech.
But it's not like Texas Tech is starved for resources when compared to other programs. In fact, Blanchard believes that Texas Tech is among the top five programs in the country when it comes to resources for the football program.
Speaking with Adam Breneman during a recent podcast, Blanchard opened up about his experience in Lubbock.
"This has to be one of the top 5 resource programs in the country," Blanchard said. "There's not a program in the country who I think that we can't compete with as far as a resource allocation standpoint, as far as a donor support standpoint, and an admin support standpoint. So, I said it in an article that came out the other day, and I meant every word. I feel like what's going on here, as far as alignment and resources, it's a lot similar to what Oregon probably felt like when they first started getting tread on the tires over there."
When it comes to NIL, Texas Tech is recognized as one of the top spenders in the country. And while some reports have suggested the Red Raiders have spent nearly $40 million on this year's roster, Blanchard admits that it takes about $20-30 million to build a championship roster in today's era of college football. Although NCAA regulations could drastically impact that number in the near future, the job of a GM right now is to spend whatever it takes to build a competitive roster.
"If they regulate it, of course, it will fall between that $13-15 million mark. If they don't regulate it, then NIL is still a big part of it... it's going to be $25-35 million to field a top 15 roster in the country. Because you've got to do that to have the talent close. When the talent is close, that's when coaching matters the most. So for the coaches to be able to shine, we gotta close the talent gap. So people are going to spend $25-30 million to close that talent gap so their coaching talent can shine. "
During the offseason, there's no question that Texas Tech has spent money to close the talent gap. With arguably the top transfer portal class in the nation, the Red Raiders are now viewed as one of the early favorites to win the Big 12 and land a spot in the College Football Playoff - both of which would be firsts for the Texas Tech football program.
Facing the opportunity to make history with Texas Tech in 2025, Blanchard says that unfinished business is what helped keep him in Lubbock.
"Turning down the Notre Dame job was hard. You walk in there and you see Marcus Freeman... this guy's like a rockstar. He has a glow about him when he walks in the room. You can just tell why he's so successful. But we have unfinished business here. We had just signed about 85% of what became the number one portal class in the country, and I came here to do something that had never been done at this program before. We've never even been to the Big 12 championship before. I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night if I hadn't accomplished that mission with Coach McGuire. People are going to have many times to take other jobs and opportunities, but you're not going to have a lot of times, a lot of opportunities, to make history."
You can catch the full interview between Breneman and Blanchard below:
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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