Duke originally swiped General Manager of Player Personnel John Garrett from ACC foe Florida State, and now the Seminoles are getting him back at the worst time.
According to multiple reports on Saturday, Garrett is expected to be named Florida State's next general manager after almost two years in basically the same role for the Blue Devils.
John Garrett reportedly leaving Duke to be Florida State's GM
Duke hired Garrett away from Florida State in January 2024. He had been serving as the Seminoles' director of scouting for offense for two years before leaving for Durham. That was Garrett's first role involving a college front office after decades of coaching at the college and NFL levels. On top of creating scouting reports for opposing defenses, Garrett also evaluated high school and transfer prospects for Florida State.
It's clear why the Seminoles wanted Garrett back considering their success while he was in Tallahassee, whether coincidence or not. Florida State was 23-4 with Garrett on staff, including appearances in the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl and 2023 Orange Bowl. The Seminoles were a combined 7-17 the past two seasons since Garrett's departure.
The Blue Devils are 17-9 the past two seasons, including an ACC championship this year, with Garrett assembling their roster. Duke's 2025 signing class was No. 5 in the ACC and last year's transfer class included landing starting quarterback Darian Mensah from Tulane.
Losing Garrett isn't as catastrophic for the Blue Devils as the timing of the loss, though. Duke is now left without a general manager less than a week before the Transfer Portal officially opens on Friday. That's also the first day college football programs can legally contact prospects directly and sign transfers. Any prior relationship can likely be scrapped just six days before things can actually happen.
In the meantime, head coach Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils are already in El Paso, Texas, and focused on their Sun Bowl matchup against Arizona State at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, just two days before the Transfer Portal chaos really starts.