| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1962-01-29)January 29, 1962 (age 63) Park Forest, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1983 | Arizona State |
| Position(s) | Running back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1986–1988 | Wisconsin (DB) |
| 1989–1996 | Mankato State (DC) |
| 1997 | Eastern Michigan (LB) |
| 1998–1999 | Eastern Michigan (DC) |
| 1999 | Eastern Michigan (interim HC) |
| 2000 | Eastern Michigan (RB/ST) |
| 2001 | Chicago Enforcers (assistant) |
| 2003–2005 | Hinsdale Central HS (IL) |
| 2006–2012 | Washington HS (IA) |
| 2016–2018 | Wisconsin–Stout (DB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 0–1 (college) |
Tony E. Lombardi (born January 29, 1962) is anAmerican football coach. He served as the interim head football coach atEastern Michigan University for one game in 1999.
Lombardi is the father ofCincinnati Bengals quarterbackRocky Lombardi.
Lombardi attendedRich East High School in his hometown ofPark Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb ofChicago, graduating in 1980.[1] While in high school, he played tailback on the football team, which was coached by his father,Bob Lombardi.[2]
Lombardi played running back for theArizona State UniversitySun Devils from 1980 through 1983, and was awarded a varsity letter for all four years of play.[1]Lombardi went undrafted in the1984 NFL draft and signed as a free agent with theChicago Bears.[3] However, he did not make the team's roster.
After spending the 1985 season as defensive coordinator for his alma mater,Rich East High School inPark Forest, Illinois, Lombardi served as defensive backs coach for theWisconsin Badgers while earning a master's degree from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison. From 1989 through 1996 he was the defensive coordinator for theNCAA Division IIMankato State Mavericks (now Minnesota State University).[1]
In 1997, then-head coachRick Rasnick hired him as thelinebackers coach for theEastern Michigan Eagles, and in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, he served as the team's defensive coordinator.[1]
The first ten games of the 1999 season were coached byRick Rasnick, with Lombardi serving as defensive coordinator. Eastern Michigan athletic directorDave Diles Jr. fired Rasnick on November 16, and named Lombardi as the interim head coach, to serve for the final game of the season.[1] Under Rasnick, the 1999 team had compiled a record of 4 wins and 6 losses.[4] Lombardi's one game as EMU's head coach was a 24-30 loss to theNorthern Illinois on November 20, 1999 that was played inDeKalb, Illinois.[5]
At the end of Eastern Michigan's 1999 season, none of Rasnick's assistant coaches were retained.[6] In 2001, Lombardi became the head coach atHomewood-Flossmoor High School inHomewood, Illinois,[7] where his father had been coach in the late 1960s, and he quickly revitalized the struggling team.[2] However, after just one season, Lombardi left Homewood-Flossmoor moving closer to his family who lived in Plainfield, taking over atHinsdale Central High School inHinsdale, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago.[8]
After three seasons at Hinsdale Central, Lombardi was fired for using harsh language in front of players and assistant coaches.[9] He moved on to Cedar Rapids Washington High School there he took on the responsibility of Head Strength and Conditioning coach, Head Football Assistant Track and was later the Head Baseball Coach. In 2013 following the baseball season, Lombardi resigned as Head Football and Baseball Coach and moved to West Des Moines to go into Medical Sales, following an out-of-court settlement with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners resulting in temporary suspension of his teaching license and coaching certificate.[10]
His oldest son Rocky was a three-star Quarterback recruit in the Class of 2017[11] and would commit toMichigan State, where he was three-year letterwinner and would start 9 games for the Spartans before transferring toNorthern Illinois in 2021.[12] His younger son Beau would also be recruited to play Division 1 football as he would commit toArmy,[13] where he would switch from playing Quarterback to playing on the Offensive Line.[14]
Graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Homewood, Ill. where he played football for co-head coaches, Tony Lombardi, a former EMU football assistant, and Tom Bailey.
Lombardi left behind a stellar group of players that included several Division I recruits, Freddy Barnes who played at Bowling Green, Xavier Fulton who played at the University of Illinois, Tim Johnson who played at Oklahoma and Brandon Balckom who played at Kansas State just to name a few. Lombardi returned the next year in the playoffs with his Hinsdale Central team to defeat the Vikings in the second round of the playoffs..