Belichick brought on former NFL executive Michael Lombardi to serve as his general manager. Lombardi’s NFL experience spans 30 years with six different teams, including three years with Belichick’s Patriots and all five of Belichick’s seasons as the head coach of the Browns. He was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams in his career. The 1984 San Francisco 49ers won it all when he was a scout, and Belichick’s Patriots won it in 2014 and 2016 while he was an assistant on the coaching staff.
Lombardi started his coaching career as a recruiting coordinator at UNLV in 1981 before beginning his time in San Fransisco, working as an area scout under the legendary Bill Walsh. He worked as the director of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns under Belichick from 1991-95. Lombardi joined the Browns’ staff before Belichick’s arrival in 1987 as a scout.
Lombardi served in various personnel positions with the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos from the 1998-2007 and had a brief stint as the general manager of the Browns in 2013. He reunited with Belichick in 2014 in New England.
“I think the landscape of college Football has changed, and this is such an incredible university,” Lombardi said in a media scrum following Belichick’s introductory press conference. “Bill and I came here in 1992. We stayed at the Carolina Inn. We would watch tape all day. We’d go jog, and we thought, ‘Man, how can’t you win here? What a magical place.’
“I think the way the game has changed, and you have more time to develop players in college than you do with pro with all the pro rules and the collective bargaining agreement that’s been in place. And to work again with Belichick is probably another dream come true, because we had success in Cleveland, we had success together in New England. And it feels right to work that way. And I love building football teams.”
Swiss
