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SMU is landing OU's J.R. Sandlin as General Manager and Asst AD. Has recruiting chops as Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting and significantly improved OU's player base in that role
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An under-the-radar hire that might pay dividends.

https://www.si.com/college/oklahoma/football/report-oklahoma-staffer-headed-to-smu-as-assistant-ad-and-gm

Welcome J.R. (fitting name for an SMU exec, Dallas jokes aside)!

Uh ... "general manager"?
Any idea what that role entails?

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Announces Addition Of Sandlin To Recruiting Staff

DALLAS (SMU) – Head Coach Rhett Lashlee announced the hiring of J.R. Sandlin to SMU's football recruiting staff on Wednesday.

Sandlin will join the Mustangs in the role of Assistant A.D. & General Manager. The addition of Sandlin enhances an already talented recruiting/personnel team at SMU as it transitions into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for 2024. Alex Brown will continue to lead SMU's scouting department as Senior Director of Scouting & Player Personnel.

Brown has been instrumental in the Mustangs' rise under Lashlee the last two seasons, helping the program land the 13th-ranked transfer class in 2023 which led to the first conference championship since 1984 this past fall.

Sandlin brings high-level experience and knowledge to the Hilltop after spending the past two years as Director of Player Personnel & Recruiting at Oklahoma, serving as a key piece in the Sooners’ recruiting efforts behind the scenes during head coach Brent Venables' first two seasons in Norman. Oklahoma was able to land consensus top-10 classes by multiple publications during that span.

Sandlin has also spent time at Jacksonville State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Alabama.

Pony4Life wrote:Uh ... "general manager"?
Any idea what that role entails?

It's a recognition of how much the program needs to manage in the new world of NIL and wide-open transfer portals. I *think* Duke MBB had the first one in June 2022 (link below), and several programs, across schools and (revenue) sports, have followed suit since. But by no means all. This is a smart move.

https://goduke.com/news/2022/6/7/mens-b ... tball.aspx

Pony4Life wrote:Uh ... "general manager"?
Any idea what that role entails?

Take a look at my last post under "Marcus Bryant Enters portal". This is why a "General Manger" position is needed in this NIL era.

Anytime we can grab people from “bigger schools” I’m up for it. Let’s keep rolling, because we are rolling!!!