The evolution of the college football general manager: interview with Kansas GM Rob Ianello

By Simon Carroll

The role of a general manager has been prevalent in the NFL since way back in the 1930’s, when Chicago Bears owner George Halas decided he wanted to be personally involved in football operations. Nowadays, a professional franchise would not be able to cope without a GM and the rest of the front office staff that reports directly to them.

College football is a totally different beast to the NFL, both on and off the field. But the introduction of legitimate payments to players has changed the dynamic of recruiting, and programs up and down the country have embraced the value of having someone other than the head coach presiding over personnel.

Ahead of their trip to London for the Union Jack Classic in September, Kansas Jayhawks’ GM Rob Ianello spent time with the UK media, explaining the evolution of his role on the team – and what it means for the fans heading to Wembley Stadium in Week 3 of the 2026 season.

Evaluator, Recruiter, Cap Manager, Negotiator

A coach with more than thirty year’s experience, Rob Ianello did not anticipate being a college football general manager when he became an assistant at Alabama in 1988. A role reserved for the NFL, the amateur status of the college game meant money wasn’t – or at least shouldn’t have been – a factor in player recruitment.

Today, the college football landscape is a million miles from when Ianello began his career. The introduction of Name, Image and Likeness payments to players, coupled with the fluid nature of rosters with the relaxed transfer portal, means managing personnel and allocating money is a full time role.

Kansas’ hiring of Lance Leipold as head coach coincided with this new era. The Jayhawks had made a recommitment to football that meant embracing this new way of working was necessary for success. Having worked with Ianello for six years at Buffalo, Leipold tabbed his former assistant head coach for the GM position in his first season in Lawrence:

“When we originally came here in May of 2021, Kansas had been really down as a football program. So the more help I could give Coach Leipold, the more I could take things off his plate for the running of the team, the quicker we could get this thing going in the right direction.”

Traditionally, all coaches on a college football staff would be heavily involved in recruiting. And so the art of scouting and attracting talent would have come naturally to Ianello. But as the NIL movement exploded, the shift in his remit as a general manager would evolve further and quicker than he or Leipold initially anticipated:

“The NIL rule passed, allowing kids to earn compensation. Then came the revenue sharing. So in five years, I’ve gone from evaluator to cap manager to contract negotiator. It’s been a dramatic shift, using these tools to put together a team. We’ve leaned on contacts in the NFL quite a bit to get ahead of this thing.”

Spotting A Jayhawk

The new, money driven way of life in college football isn’t for everyone. We’ve seen head coaches depart for coordinator or position coach roles in the NFL, citing the changes in recruitment and player priorities and the extra work needed to build a roster. Those who want to be successful in the new era need to lean into it.

Communication is also vital. Kansas saw 26 players leave their roster in the latest transfer portal – high by their own standards, but low nationally. In response they brought in 30 new faces. Much like in the NFL, the head coach – general manager relationship is critical to building the program:

“I’ve worked with Lance for a long time, way back to our time in Wisconsin under Barry Alvarez. Coach Alvarez preached having a shared vision, and we have that; I know what our head coach wants for his football team, and I appreciate Lance entrusting and empowering me to help deliver that.”

Sometimes, NIL and the portal feels like the wild west; a handful of programs with deep pockets indiscriminately throwing dollars around and seeing what sticks. Most schools need to be a lot more judicial with how they choose to allocate resources, even ones in a Power 4 conference like Kansas is.

Spending money wisely, therefore, can be the difference between success and failure. Ianello was keen to stress how fit and personality are just as important as ability in modern day recruiting:

“The transfer portal is a little like speed dating. You bring guys on campus, and you’re trying to find as much information on them through coaches or family as possible. Does he fit our culture? That’s the key question – we’ve let guys head elsewhere before who had the talent to start for us, but we didn’t feel would embrace our standards or the way we do things.”

London Calling

In previous era’s, committing to a college was essentially for life. Transferring, unless you had graduated, would cost you a year of eligibility, and with only four years to show what you could do, that was often too high a price to pay to switch schools.

With that no longer the case, the Kansas Jayhawks that come to Wembley Stadium in 2026 will look vastly different to the team that went 5-7 in 2025. This roster turnover makes Ianello and Leipold’s focus on culture all the more prevalent; retaining a common cause that players new and old can all buy into.

Kansas University is embarking on a serious investment into athletics; David Booth Memorial Stadium is in the midst of rebuild, part of an $800m renovation project of the Gateway district where the sports facilities reside. More than halfway complete, it’s clear the facilities will be the envy of most in the Big 12.

Environment and culture are two tools that Rob Ianello uses not just to recruit talent, but to retain it. For the past four years the Jayhawks have had Jalon Daniels under center, a quarterback that would have walked into almost any team in the country. How do you keep guys like that in the building when SEC and Big Ten teams are able to offer a stronger financial package?

“Retention is probably the most important part of my role as GM. You want to keep your best players! So you treat them well, treat them fairly. Ensure they have everything they need to be successful. Getting a degree at Kansas is of high value, and of course the new facilities are state of the art. You get proactive with that information, speak to their families and representation, and sell them on Lawrence being the best place for the player to thrive.”

Daniels heads to the NFL this offseason, meaning there’ll be a competition at KU for the quarterback job. Backup Cole Ballard (son of Colts GM Chris Ballard – a useful tool for Ianello) returns, but will need to fend off dual threat sophomore Isaiah Marshall and incoming transfer Chase Jenkins, whose proficiency in Rice’s option offense last year brings a different dynamic to the position.

Competition is the theme at Kansas for 2026, and college fans heading to London on September 13th will witness a roster that has big plays everywhere you look. Keep an eye out for transfer running back Dylan Edwards, who comes in from rivals K-State and is a touchdown threat whenever he has the ball in his hands.

Ianello is excited for the cultural opportunity the Union Jack Classic presents for the roster, a group of young men that are at college for far more than just football:

“With NIL and rev-share, it’s easy to forget the educational component of collegiate sports. Heading to London will be an amazing experience for our guys, an experience not everyone has the chance to have. We want to develop them as football players but also as men. It’s the reason most of us got into coaching, and should be the number one reason why they pick a school. It’s an opportunity we are all excited for.”

Kansas will host the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 2026 Union Jack Classic. Tickets can be purchased now on the Union Jack Classic website.

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

HEAD OF CFB/NFL DRAFT CONTENT

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST, IS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER FOR DAZN AND COVERS THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOR SB NATION.

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