The University of Oklahoma and head coach Brent Venables have hired long-time NFL veteran Jim Nagy as General Manager for Football, the school announced on Wednesday.
In a press release touting OU’s forward thinking in a rapidly evolving landscape, Venables said he’s eager to get to work with Nagy restoring national prestige to the program, which has recorded losing records in two of his first three seasons.
“Nagy’s high-caliber, extensive experience in scouting, recruiting,” Venables said, “and retaining top talent will pay dividends across our roster and ultimately on the field.”
In OU’s model, the general manager will work alongside the head football coach to construct a roster capable of competing at a championship level, the release states, calling it “a progressive new structure uniquely tailored to meet the most current challenges in college football.”
Statement from outgoing Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy:
“The past seven years at the Reese’s Senior Bowl have been some of the most rewarding of my professional career and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be even a small part of the game’s rich history.… https://t.co/K2si568NSL
— Reese’s Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) February 26, 2025
“This is a new era in intercollegiate athletics at one of the greatest college football programs in the country,” Nagy said in the press release. “The legacy of excellence that precedes my arrival is a testament to the leadership at OU and the university’s commitment to execute at a championship level. I am honored to bring my experience and work ethic to this program and am confident that through collaboration and effort, we can achieve excellent results. I am truly excited to get to Norman and begin our process with Coach Venables and his great staff.”
Since 2018, Nagy has served as the Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, the nation’s most prestigious college all-star game that showcases draft-eligible college football players, where he has been responsible for the identification, evaluation, recruitment, and selection of the top NFL prospects to be invited to the game.
In his role, Nagy cultivated relationships across college football, the agent community, and all 32 NFL front offices. In the past five game cycles, the Senior Bowl has produced more than 100 drafted players each year, representing more than 40 percent of those NFL Draft classes. Last year, the Senior Bowl had a record 110 total selections, including 45 of the top 100 players and 10 first-round picks.
For nearly two decades prior to this position, Nagy served in various scouting capacities with the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, and the Washington Redskins. During his 17 years working as a scout in NFL front offices, his teams played in multiple Super Bowls.
Nagy began his NFL front office career with Washington, where he was a regional scout from 2001-02. He worked for New England as a regional scout from 2002-09. From 2009-13, he was a national scout for Kansas City, and from 2013-18 he was a regional scout in Seattle. His teams in New England (2003 and 2004) and Seattle (2013) won three Super Bowls and were runners-up in two others (2007, 2014), according to his LinkedIn page.
He told The Athletic in 2019 that he stepped away from the NFL and took over the Senior Bowl so he could spend more time with his family, including two teenage children. Nagy grew up in Traverse City, MI, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
As executive director of the Senior Bowl, Nagy was responsible for everything from talent evaluation and acquisition for the game to promotions (he stayed active on Twitter/X) to helping land sponsorships.
“I knew it was a big job, but it’s a bigger job than I thought,” Nagy told The Athletic. “A lot of it is probably my creating. It’s forced me out of my comfort zone but it’s made me grow a lot.
Nagy will lead OU’s roster management and talent acquisition, including player recruitment, evaluation, retention, and compensation as part of his duties. He also will manage the impact of rules governing name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal process, revenue-share allocation, scholarship limits, and eligibility requirements.
“As my family transitions to a new chapter, we are excited about the great experience that lies ahead at the University of Oklahoma,” Nagy said in a statement posted by the Senior Bowl Twitter/X account. “It was going to take a special opportunity for us to leave Mobile and becoming the general manager of Sooner Football is exactly that. I cannot wait to get to Norman and help Coach Venables and his staff build a roster that consistently competes for SEC championships and CFP titles.”
Statement from outgoing Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy:
“The past seven years at the Reese’s Senior Bowl have been some of the most rewarding of my professional career and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be even a small part of the game’s rich history.… https://t.co/K2si568NSL
— Reese’s Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) February 26, 2025
Nagy replaces Curtis Lofton, the former Sooner All-American linebacker and nine-year NFL veteran, who joined Venables’ staff in 2022 as director of the SOUL Mission before taking over last year as GM. Lofton left his position at OU on Jan. 16 to take a job in ministry.
The new model is intended to meet the emerging challenges of college football and mirrors many aspects of professional sports teams. It allows for the general manager and head football coach to work side-by-side in partnership, each focusing on a specific area of expertise.
To facilitate the implementation and operation of this new model, Randall Stephenson has been asked to assume the role of Chair of Football and Special Advisor to the President and the Director of Athletics. In that role, he will provide day-to-day oversight of the general manager and head football coach. In addition, he will continue offering his oversight and expertise of the budgeting, strategic planning, and business planning functions during this unique time of change in college athletics.
“I am pleased to have worked with President (Joe) Harroz and the Board of Regents to bring about this progressive change,” OU athletic direcot Joe Castiglione said in the release. “Today’s evolving world requires skilled management of player contracts, multiple player acquisition pathways and allocating resources. All of these are new and vital functions within college athletics.
“I am convinced that great college football teams will be set apart by their ability to continually innovate to meet these massive changes. Part of that innovation means providing every tool Coach Venables and his staff need to be successful. OU’s willingness to reimagine the traditional structure and reposition the varied responsibilities within football operations will strengthen us going forward. Jim Nagy brings to us great experience, relationships and perspectives that will mesh well with our staff and will complement the program’s continued pursuit of conference and national championships.”
Stephenson’s new role was announced by the university in December.
“Few industries, inside or outside the world of sports, have experienced the pace and magnitude of change we are witnessing in intercollegiate athletics,” Stephenson said in Wednesday’s release. “The freedom now afforded to athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness and transfer between programs demands that college athletics adapt its approach to meet the needs of these athletes. Hiring a GM with the proven pedigree and experience Nagy brings to OU is another step toward meeting these demands.
“For more than a quarter-century, OU Athletics has been under the visionary leadership of the best athletics director in the country, who, alongside some of the greatest coaches in college sports, continually produces championship teams,” Stephenson added. “The growing demands and complexities of collegiate athletics today, however, require a multi-faceted approach that leverages the strengths and skillsets of multiple leaders.”
Venables’ mission will be to utilize Nagy and Stephenson’s expertise to navigate the uncertain waters facing collegiate athletics, which includes a forthcoming revenue sharing model with the athletes in July. Castiglione said last week the Sooners would offer the maximum amount, which has been projected to start at $20.5 million. Of that, it’s anticipated that football players will receive around 70 percent.
The NCAA Transfer Portal has been used increasingly by athletes in the last five years, and in 2021, the NCAA allowed players to begin monitizing their name, image and likeness. In that time, OU has struggled to keep up, and last year’s move to the Southeastern Conference — college football’s preeminent collegiate athletic league that seems to be taking over in other sports as well — emphasized the need for sweeping change in Norman.
The Sooners were 6-7 in Venables’ first season in 2022, then went 10-3 in their final year in the Big 12. This year’s 6-7 record produced a 2-6 mark in conference play, matching the 1997 team for OU’s worst in league games since 1931.
“The work required to manage a roster, including contract negotiations, player evaluation, strategic planning, recruiting, and retention, requires full-time focus and skill sets,” Venables said. ” … I look forward to working alongside him and Athletics Director Castiglione as we look ahead to great things for OU football.”
“The future of OU Athletics is bright,” Harroz said. “OU’s forward-thinking, coupled with the special team and skill sets we have assembled, gives me confidence that we will continue building championship football teams for years at OU.”
OU Media Relations contributed to this report.
