Who is Michael Lombardi? Meet former NFL executive joining Bill Belichick at UNC

Admin December 12, 2024

College football’s coaching ranks underwent a seismic shift on Wednesday when North Carolina announced it had hired Bill Belichick to be its next head football coach.

Belichick, 72, spent nearly 50 years in the NFL before he and the New England Patriots mutually agreed to part ways after the 2023 NFL season. He has never coached college football during his career but is taking on the challenge in the hopes of turning UNC into a professional-style program, as he described during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday.

“I think there are a lot of (college) football programs being structured similar to pro programs,” Belichick said.

Belichick wants to focus on nutrition, strength and conditioning and player development as part of that program.

But who will focus on recruiting, roster building and all of the NIL rules and regulations that college football is slowly figuring out? Belichick is bringing with him a long-time friend and former assistant to help him in that quest: Michael Lombardi.

Here’s what to know about Lombardi and his relationship with Belichick.

Who is Michael Lombardi?

Lombardi was hired to be the general manager of North Carolina’s football program. He will be joining Belichick with the goal of building a pro-style personnel department to evaluate talent in the transfer portal and scout high school players.

He told Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) in an interview on Thursday that he views the position similarly to his previous high-ranking NFL scouting positions.

“I think the job’s gonna stay pretty much like it was,” Lombardi said when asked how his previous NFL roles would differ from his college role. “We’re just gonna reframe the name of the job, but it’s gonna be pretty much the same, and it’s gonna be 24/7. The difference will be there’s no structure. We won’t have a draft, and there’ll be deadlines in terms of the portal, but we can work around it.”

Lombardi began his career in the college ranks with a four-year stint as UNLV’s recruiting coordinator from 1981-84 before jumping to the NFL as a scout with the San Francisco 49ers in 1984. That kickstarted his NFL career, which spanned 32 years and saw him work in various scouting roles with the 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos and Patriots.

Notably, Lombardi spent the 2013 NFL season as the general manager of the Browns. He held that position for one year before being replaced by Ray Farmer. During that stint in Cleveland, Lombardi oversaw a draft class that was highlighted by No. 6 overall pick Barkevious Mingo; the Browns selected Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel in Farmer’s first year as the Browns general manager.

Lombardi last worked in the NFL from 2014-16 as an assistant to Belichick and the Patriots’ coaching staff. He won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, giving him three total for his career, as the 49ers won one during his second year with the organization.

In between his NFL stints, Lombardi has worked for various media companies as an NFL analyst. Notably, he was an NFL draft analyst for ESPN in 1996 and has also been featured on “Inside the NFL,” NFL Network, Fox Sports and CBS Sports during his career.

Lombardi most recently has worked for VSiN as an on-air host and also hosted a podcast called “The GM Shuffle.”

Michael Lombardi’s relationship with Bill Belichick

Lombardi has had a relationship with Belichick dating back to their days together with the Browns. Lombardi served as Cleveland’s director of player personnel for the final three years of Belichick’s time as head coach; that fostered a lasting relationship and played a part in Lombardi coming to the Patriots in 2014.

Now, Lombardi is following Belichick to the college game. He explained how the situation played out during his interview with VSiN.

“This came together because Bill wanted to go back to college,” Lombardi said. “I think if you read the David Halberstam book ‘Education of a Coach,’ Halberstam predicted that one day, Belichick would go back to college football because he values teaching so much.”

Lombardi elaborated that he believed that the dramatic changes in college football have made the system more welcoming for professional coaches and talent evaluators like Belichick and himself. They are used to the pay-for-play element of football, so Lombardi believes that he and Belichick will be able to “put a dollar sign on a player” while being “able to motivate and coach within the framework of monetary compensation.”

That made Lombardi feel more than comfortable with taking the position.

“So, for me – and my relationship with coach Belichick – once he decided he wanted to do this and then asked if I wanted to do this, I thought, ‘Why not?'” Lombardi said. “This is the perfect time and the perfect setting.”

It wasn’t the first time that Lombardi and Belichick had discussed the UNC program, however. The former NFL executive detailed that the duo, along with current Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, took a scouting trip to Chapel Hill in 1992 and lamented that the program wasn’t consistently winning.

“We both looked at each other – and this was 1992 – and we said, ‘How the hell can’t they win here?'” Lombardi said. “That’s a true story. And that is really what sparked this.”

Is Michael Lombardi related to Vince Lombardi?

For those wondering, Michael Lombardi is not related to Vince Lombardi. Vince Lombardi does have a grandson who works in the NFL, but that’s Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.