"Never even thought about working in CFB" - Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy reveals real reason behind joining Sooners football

The Oklahoma Sooners hired Jim Nagy as their general manager for the football team in February. He is expected to work closely with OU coach Brent Venables to get the program back on track following a rather dismal 2024 season, when the Sooners posted a 6-7 record.

On Wednesday, Nagy appeared on "The Triple Option" podcast and opened up on why he joined Oklahoma this offseason, while also reflecting on his previous jobs.

After he interviewed for the New York Jets GM job in December, some college programs also showed interest.

"The phone did ring from some college programs, and I'd never even thought about working in college," Nagy said (29:37). "My goal from the time I was a little kid was to work in the NFL, and again, fortunate to have done that for a couple of decades.

Nagy shared that while it was a tough decision for him and his family, the prospect of winning big at Oklahoma was too good to pass up.

"So, this decision wasn't made lightly, man, at all," Nagy said. "But again, it was Oklahoma, so when I came on the visit and met the people, and walked in the building downstairs...there's seven national championship trophies and seven Heisman Trophies. Like, everything has been done at Oklahoma. ...

"I wasn't going to make this jump to a level I never really intended to work unless we were going to win at a really high level. We plan on winning national championships here. So I felt like this was a place that could do it where we could do it, and now we are here."

Nagy brings years of experience to Oklahoma. He served in various scouting capacities with the NFL's Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, and the then-Washington Redskins.

Across 18 years in NFL front offices, Jim Nagy's teams played in six Super Bowls and won four of them. Now, he will be hoping to achieve success at the collegiate level as well with Oklahoma.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr praises Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy

Oklahoma Sooners GM Jim Nagy - Source: Imagn

ESPN analyst and draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. showered praise on Oklahoma's GM Jim Nagy during an episode of "The Dari Nowkhah Show," on KREF on Tuesday.

"I think it's great for Oklahoma, great for Jim," Kiper said. "Like I said, I don't think there's a better evaluator of talent out there."

Jim Nagy is expected to lead the Sooners' roster management and talent acquisition, including player recruitment, evaluation, retention, and compensation as part of his job. He will also handle the impact of rules governing name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal process, revenue-share allocation, scholarship limits, and eligibility requirements.

Having brought in Nagy for the GM role at Oklahoma, the team will be aiming to return to posting a winning season in 2025.