CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Michael Lombardi is a key piece of Bill Belichick’s foray into college coaching, the general manager charged with reshaping North Carolina’s program into a mini pro franchise.
Fittingly, the former NFL executive’s days sound a lot like they did in the league — so he can be forgiven if he occasionally slips up with past terms like referencing a “draft board” when discussing recruiting.
“My day is pretty much spent like it was in the NFL: get here early, watch tape, study players, write reports,” Lombardi said Tuesday.
Lombardi’s news conference marked the first on-campus availability for the program since Belichick’s hiring in December as successor to fired coach Mack Brown — the program’s all-time winningest coach. Belichick immediately brought on the 65-year-old Lombardi, who spent more than 30 years in NFL front offices in a career that included being the GM of the Cleveland Browns in 2013 and working with the late Bill Walsh with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s.
What seemed then like UNC’s fanciful dalliance with Belichick has quickly turned into an audacious bet (and elevated commitment) that the coach who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles could elevate the program that has largely known only bouts of unsustained success. Belichick is counting on Lombardi to help change UNC’s system and structure to something resembling those NFL days.
“Everything we do here is predicated on building a pro team,” Lombardi said. “We consider ourselves the 33rd (NFL) team because everybody who’s involved with our program has had some form or aspect in pro football.”
Lombardi’s news conference came roughly a week after the program announced its second wave of signees of incoming high-school or transfer talent. The first came in December, and both — 19 college transfers and 21 high-school recruits — offer an indication of what Belichick and Lombardi are prioritizing in revamping the Tar Heels.
First, Lombardi referenced multiple times the importance of building up the lines. Notably, the classes include 10 defensive linemen, with three as transfers, and five offensive linemen — all transfers.
“It comes back to the philosophy, right?” Lombardi said. “If you believe in something and you want to improve in that area, you’re going to put your money where your mouth is. It won’t be hard to figure out where we’ll want to put it. We’re going to sign defensive and offensive linemen.”
Secondly, the school that has long had coaches touting the importance of recruiting instate talent is casting a wider search. The two batches include just two instate signees — one being four-star quarterback prospect Bryce Baker, who maintained his commitment through the coaching change — out of 21 prep recruits.
That’s the same numbers as Virginia, New Jersey and New York. Florida had the most with four.
“This UNC logo is worldwide, so we shouldn’t limit ourselves,” Lombardi said. “I think we can walk into any school and say, ‘We’re North Carolina, we have the greatest coach in the history of football, and we have a great university. Come play for us.’
“I think it’s a powerful message, so why should we limit ourselves to just a smaller footprint? And it allows you to look all over the country for the players that fit you.”
Lastly, UNC’s recruiting class is ranked No. 43 nationally by 247Sports and No. 46 by Rivals, with both listing the Tar Heels as 10th in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference. Yet when asked about recruiting less-heralded prospects, Lombardi said simply: “We believe in our eyes.”
“If you trust your eyes and you evaluate players, it doesn’t really matter if some other school wants them,” he said. “All I know is from my 35 years or more in the National Football League, I’ve drafted players that weren’t recruited out of high school. I’ve drafted players that had no scholarship offers coming out of high school.
“So there’s always going to be a lot of guys that get missed. I think you have to trust your instincts and trust your eyes.”
The team hasn’t set dates for its spring practices yet and is still working to build its personnel and coaching staff, though Belichick’s son Steve — who coached under him with the Patriots and spent last year in college coaching at Washington — joined him on one of his frequent media appearances on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” as the two recruited for the Tar Heels.
The pro influences reach all the way to Belichick’s college debut; the Tar Heels’ get their own version of Monday Night Football by hosting TCU on Labor Day night on ESPN.
But that’s a long way off to Lombardi with the work still ahead.
“I can’t even imagine Week 1,” Lombardi said. “I’m trying to get through Week 5 of the offseason.”