| North Carolina Tar Heels | |
|---|---|
| Title | General manager |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1959-06-19)June 19, 1959 (age 66) Ocean City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Valley Forge Military Academy |
| College | Hofstra |
| Career history | |
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| Awards and highlights | |
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| Executive profile atPro Football Reference | |
Michael Lombardi (born June 19, 1959) is an Americanfootball executive and former analyst who is thegeneral manager for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels. Until 2016, he was an assistant to the coaching staff of theNew England Patriots and is a former analyst for theNFL Network and sportswriter at NFL.com. Lombardi also previously served as an NFL executive with theSan Francisco 49ers,Cleveland Browns,Philadelphia Eagles,Denver Broncos, andOakland Raiders. He hosts his own podcast "The GM Shuffle" formerly withAdnan Virk now with Femi Abebefe, and co-hosts a Saturday morning sports betting program onSirius XM forVegas Stats & Information Network along with a daily show onVegas Stats & Information Network called "The Lombardi Line". Lombardi is not related toGreen Bay Packers coaching legendVince Lombardi.
Lombardi grew up inOcean City, New Jersey and played both baseball and football atValley Forge Military Academy.[2] He attended Hofstra University from 1977–1981, where he playeddefensive lineman andlong snapper for the football team.[3]
In 1981, Lombardi was hired as a recruiting coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas by Rebels' head coachHarvey Hyde.[3]
Lombardi began his NFL career in 1984 as an area scout underBill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers, where he stayed until 1987.[4] He claimed credit for the initial discovery and scouting of Hall of FamerCharles Haley, who was drafted by San Francisco 49ers in1986 NFL draft, but this claim is disputed by Walsh's son, Craig.[1]
Lombardi joined the Cleveland Browns organization as pro personnel director in 1987. Later, he became the Browns' director of player personnel and worked under head coachBill Belichick managing drafts, negotiating contracts and acquiring free agents.[5]
In 1997,Philadelphia Eagles PresidentJoe Banner hired Lombardi as a consultant to assist with the1997 NFL draft. Banner then named Lombardi director of pro personnel of the Eagles in 1998.[5]
Later that same year,Al Davis hired Lombardi to serve as senior personnel executive of theOakland Raiders, a position which he held until 2007.[6] During his tenure with the Raiders, Oakland won three consecutiveAFC West titles and advanced toSuper Bowl XXXVII.[2]
In October 2012, sportswriterJason La Canfora reported that the Cleveland Browns were considering Lombardi for their vacancy at general manager.[7] He was hired for that position five months later.[8] On February 11, 2014, the Browns replaced Lombardi withRay Farmer.[9]
From 2014 to 2016, Lombardi worked underBill Belichick of theNew England Patriots as an assistant to the coaching staff.[10][11] Speaking about Lombardi's time in New England, Belichick said, "Mike's...one of the smartest people I've worked with. He was huge asset to me for the two years he was here...he studies football and he knows it very well."[12]
Lombardi has worked as an administrator in the NFL for over 30 years and has worked forBill Walsh,Al Davis andBill Belichick.[13] Sports and pop culture essayistChuck Klosterman described Lombardi as, "a detail freak and a polymath, or at least a person successfully attempting to impersonate one" after spending time with him at the Cleveland Browns facility in the hours leading up to the2013 NFL draft.[14] Lombardi has also been described as, "one of the most quiet but influential executives in the NFL." He has been credited as one of the first NFL executives to study the science of scouting players formoral character.[15]
On December 11, 2024, Lombardi accepted a position to become the general manager for the North Carolina Tar Heels, reuniting him with Bill Belichick.
As a broadcaster, Lombardi has worked forESPN,CBS Sports,Showtime, theNFL Network andFox Sports.[16] He began his career as a member of the media in 1996 when he spent part of that year as an NFL draft analyst for ESPN. He also spent portions of 1998 and 1999 as an editorial consultant and studio analyst for CBS Sports as on-air talent for theNFL Today pre-game show.[2]
In 2008, Lombardi joinedNFL Films'Inside the NFL, a weeklyShowtime series where he provided analysis alongside hostJames Brown and former NFL playersCris Collinsworth,Phil Simms andWarren Sapp.[17] That same year, Lombardi began contributing to severalNFL Network shows, including as an in-studio analyst and reporting live from individual games.[18][19]
Lombardi was hired by Fox Sports in September 2016.[20] When he joined Fox, national networks president Jamie Horowitz said in a statement, "Michael is a thought-provoking and insightful football analyst with an impressive résumé. We feel like his blunt approach and original perspective makes the FS1 shows more interesting, and the fans of those shows more informed."[19]
In 2010, after working as on-air talent at the NFL Network for two years, Lombardi began writing columns for NFL.com, duties he performed until 2012. Lombardi has also contributed writing toSports Illustrated and theNational Football Post, the latter of which he founded and served as editor-in-chief for three years.[19][21] In January 2017, Lombardi took a position withThe Ringer where he hosted the "GM Street" podcast with Tate Frazier and also wrote articles on occasion for the website.[22] He announced via Twitter in March 2019 that he had left The Ringer to work on his own podcast.[23] He currently hosts The GM Shuffle podcast with Femi Abebefe and co-hosts a program called The Lombardi Line for VSiNVegas Stats & Information Network.[24][25]
In September 2017, Lombardi made headlines by criticizing Philadelphia Eagles coachDoug Pederson: "He might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL."[26] In the following season, Pederson wonSuper Bowl LII.[27]
In 2020, Lombardi became a co-host onHammer Dahn, a gambling podcast fromPat McAfee Inc.[citation needed]
From September 2024 through January 2025, Lombardi hosted a podcast with Belichick about the NFL called Coach with Bill Belichick.[citation needed]
Lombardi has written two books.Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Winning Championships and Building Dynasties in the NFL was published in September 2018.[28]
His second book was published in September 2023 and is calledFootball Done Right: Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL.[29]
He and his wife, Millie, have two sons:[2] Matt, who was the assistant wide receivers coach for theLas Vegas Raiders; andMick, who is the quarterbacks coach for theSan Francisco 49ers.[30] Lombardi is not related toGreen Bay Packers coaching legendVince Lombardi.[31]
He is an avid reader with an interest inRobert Caro'sbiography ofLyndon B. Johnson.[14][32]
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