Bill Belichick is putting the gang back together.
First, Michael Lombardi. NFL personnel executive turned media personality to join Belichick in North Carolina as general director of the program. Most recently, Lombardi worked for VSiN.
He worked for several NFL teams from 1984 to 2007. After an initial stint in media, he became general manager of the Browns in 2013.
From 2014 to 2016, he served as an assistant on the New England coaching staff. He then returned to media work.
Unlike Belichick, Lombardi has college experience. He was recruiting coordinator at UNLV from 1981 to 1984.
He is the last general manager in college football. Recently, Stanford hired Andrew Luck in this role.
Lombardi did a podcast with Belichick this season. Last week, Lombardi explained that Belichick was seriously considering a move to college football, in part because too many NFL teams are dysfunctional. “Where are the good jobs” Lombardi said. He took an indirect shot at Jaguars director of football strategy Tony Khan, saying “there are sons of owners who run the analytics department.”
Belichick could soon add other former lieutenants, including assistant coaches Matt Patricia, Joe Judge and Josh McDaniels, to name a few.
