Every big name has a story in college football, but not all of them start in big stadiums. Some stories begin far from the headlines. In small Division III programs, you coach because you love the game, not because cameras are rolling. That’s what a young coach was doing a few years ago. He was grinding it out at his university, but no one has heard about him.

No one was calling him a future general manager at that time. He doesn’t have a high-profile resume or wasn’t some hot-shot coordinator with NFL roots. But one thing was sure that he had the drive. And when the opportunity came to jump into the big leagues, he didn’t hesitate. He took a job at Rice and turned it into something far bigger than anyone expected.

We’re talking about Lee Menefee, who is officially on the move again. It is being reported that Menefee has been hired as the new General Manager and Associate Athletic Director at Western Michigan. He’s going to work alongside head coach Lance Taylor. This can be a game-changing move for the MAC program as the 2025 season is looming around the corner.

Taylor took over as Western Michigan’s HC in 2023, but didn’t have a dream start with only four wins and eight losses. He did improve in 2024, helping the program win six games, but obviously, it wasn’t that satisfying. However, now that Menefee has landed in the program, things might turn around in the upcoming season. We must say that it’s a major step that has come at a crucial and very important time.

Menefee can take inspiration from Ohio State’s GM Mark Pantoni, who has been with the program since 2014. He saw the program winning the national championship in his first year with the Buckeyes in 2014. However, it took almost a decade to see another national championship title with the program, which they won last year, beating Notre Dame (34-23). However, Menefee’s rise has been anything but typical.

What Lee Menefee brings to the Broncos’ front office

Lee Menefee joined Rice in March 2022 as High School Relations and the director of Recruiting Operations. In just one year, Menefee helped lead a recruiting class that ranked as the best in school history during the modern rankings era. Just a year later, he was promoted to Director of Football Operations in April 2023, where his role expanded beyond recruiting. He was handling most of the work for the program, whether it was managing budgets, organizing camps, or securing tickets. That kind of dedication doesn’t go unnoticed.

Well, that’s not the only thing in Menefee’s resume. Before all of that, he used to play as Sewanee’s linebacker, where he was a four-year letterman and a team captain. Later, he started his coaching career at Birmingham Southern after graduating in 2019 with a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics. So it’s safe to say that he’s had his hands in every aspect of the game, from operations and strategy to recruiting and coaching. Even the experience of playing as a player, he’s just an all-in-one package.

Western Michigan’s move to appoint Lee Menefee as their General Manager might not make headlines, but this move might change the program from within and quietly. Menefee’s versatility can turn the program upside down, and who knows if the beginning of the changes might start from the upcoming fall?