LOS ANGELES — On Tuesday, in a public letter to the greater USC community, Athletic Director Jen Cohen made a simple admission about the past football season to legions of supporters: “I know that a 7-6 season at USC is not up to the Trojan standard, and we must work tirelessly and collectively to do better.”

“I am fully committed to that work and entirely confident that, with our continued investments into the program, an aligned and modernized infrastructure, and your unwavering support,” Cohen wrote, in her State of Troy address, “our football program will be positioned to win championships.”

A modernized infrastructure finally materialized Friday, a long-spanning need and search for an official general manager for the football program finalized as USC has hired Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Southern California News Group.

“Jen Cohen, Lincoln Riley and USC’s total commitment to excellence make this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Savage said, in a statement through USC.

“This is a place with the resources, facilities and support to build a perennial winner, and I’m excited to get to work to help bring more national championships to USC.”

It’s an operation-changing hire, as Bowden was named FootballScoop’s Player Personnel Director of the Year early in January and now joins a program that has been looking for a front office leader for months.

After the House v. NCAA settlement introduced the concept of revenue sharing in the summer of 2024 — and USC quickly confirmed it would plan to opt into revenue sharing if the settlement was passed in 2025 — conversations began around hiring a staffer in a general manager role, a source with knowledge of the situation previously told the Southern California News Group.

USC, additionally, brought in a consultant with NFL front office experience who continued to help determine that a GM was necessary in the modern revenue-sharing era, according to the source.

In her State of Troy address, Cohen confirmed USC would invest the “full permissible” $20.5 million available to programs in 2025-26, meaning the athletic department will suddenly be tasked with figuring out how to divide millions of dollars between a slew of sports.

Cohen, too, asserted that maximizing an investment in USC football was “critical,” as programs across the country will compete in an arms race to maximize their financial heft under what head coach Lincoln Riley has referred to as a “salary cap.”

And USC has found its man to manage it all in Bowden, a rising star in the business who played a key role in assembling a Notre Dame roster that reached the national championship game this season.

It’s a major poach, from a major longtime rival, a new modern-era chapter in a storied rivalry between the Trojans and the Fighting Irish. In December, on National Signing Day, USC missed out on top local linebacker Madden Faraimo, the JSerra High product opting to sign with Notre Dame.

“I mean, the reason we got Madden is because we have the best coaches in the country recruiting him,” Bowden told reporters then, after securing Faraimo.

A month later, USC has turned around and snatched Bowden himself.

As for current USC GM Dave Emerick, a player personnel figure who was hired by Riley from Mississippi State in 2022, a source said Emerick “will remain a valuable member of staff.”

Bowden now will become one of the most important figures in USC’s program come 2025-26 as Riley enters a critical fourth year, with holes left to fill — specifically at wide receiver and cornerback — in the spring transfer portal and an expanded NIL budget through third-party collective House of Victory to work with.