Boston College is changing the top of its personnel department halfway through Bill O'Brien's third season.
General manager Kenyatta Watson is no longer with the program after what both sides called a "mutual decision" to part, according to ESPN.
Watson confirmed to the Boston Globe that the split was mutual and declined to comment further. No reason for the move has been disclosed, and the school has not named a replacement.
Watson had been on the job since December 2025, when BC hired him days after a 2-10 season. O'Brien called it "a great thing for Boston College Football" at the time, and Watson told the Globe "third time's the charm." He had interviewed for a BC personnel role under Steve Addazio in 2016 and was a finalist under Jeff Hafley in 2021 before taking a job at Florida State.
Watson, a Deerfield Beach, FL native, played wide receiver and returned kicks for the Eagles from 1993 to 1996. He caught 93 passes for 1,215 yards and ranks second in Big East history with 84 punt returns.
His path back to college football ran through the high school ranks. Watson was director of football operations and recruiting at Grayson HS (GA) from 2014 to 2018, where nearly 120 of his players earned scholarships, per BC's release. From there he spent a season at Florida State as director of player relations and pro scout liaison, two seasons as director of scouting at Georgia Tech and two seasons as assistant general manager for recruiting at Auburn, where the Tigers signed consensus top-10 classes in 2024 and 2025.
At BC, Watson helped sign 23 high school players in the Class of 2026 and helped bring in nearly 30 transfers this offseason. That group included quarterback Mason McKenzie, linebacker Anthony Palano and defensive end Demetrius Ballard. BC's 2027 class has 28 commitments and ranks #51 nationally in the 247Sports rankings.
One of those commits is his son, Jett Watson, a three-star cornerback who picked the Eagles over the summer.
Watson brought Ryan Bartow with him as assistant general manager. Bartow was most recently director of player personnel at Sacramento State after stints in high school relations at Florida State (2021-24) and Syracuse (2020-21). The school has not yet shared whether Bartow's role changes.
The Eagles are 2-3 and 0-2 in the ACC. They opened with a 34-15 loss at Cincinnati, beat Rutgers 28-21 and Maine 22-16, then fell 21-14 at home to Virginia Tech and lost at #21 SMU. BC hosts Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-1 ACC) Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
O'Brien is scheduled to meet with reporters at 11:30am EST Thursday for his weekly press conference. Losing the program's top personnel voice in mid-October puts pressure on the staff to hold the 2027 class together through the December signing period, and one of those commits is the departing GM's son.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.