Lombardi began his NFL career in 1984 as an area scout under Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers, where he stayed until 1987. 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 coach Bill Belichick managing drafts, negotiating contracts and acquiring free agents. In 1997, Philadelphia Eagles President Joe Banner hired Lombardi as a consultant to assist with the 1997 NFL Draft. Banner then named Lombardi Director of Pro Personnel of the Eagles in 1998. Later that same year, Al Davis hired Lombardi to serve as Senior Personnel Executive of the Oakland Raiders, a position which he held until 2007. During his tenure with the Raiders, Oakland won three consecutive AFC West titles and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII. In October 2012, sportswriter Jason La Canfora reported that the Cleveland Browns were considering Lombardi for their vacancy at General Manager. He was hired for that position five months later. On February 11, 2014, the Browns replaced Lombardi with Ray Farmer. From 2014–2016, Lombardi worked under Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots as an assistant to the coaching staff. 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." Lombardi has worked as an administrator in the NFL for over 30 years and has worked for Bill Walsh, Al Davis and Bill Belichick. Sports and pop culture essayist Chuck 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 the 2013 NFL Draft. 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 for moral character.
Broadcasting
As a broadcaster, Lombardi has worked for ESPN, CBS Sports, Showtime, the NFL Network and Fox Sports. 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 the NFL Today pre-game show. In 2008, Lombardi joined NFL Films' Inside the NFL, a weekly Showtime series where he provided analysis alongside host James Brown and former NFL players Cris Collinsworth, Phil Simms and Warren Sapp. That same year, Lombardi began contributing to several NFL Network shows, including as an in-studio analyst and reporting live from individual games. Lombardi was hired by Fox Sports in September 2016. 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."
Digital media
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 to Sports Illustrated and the National Football Post, the latter of which he founded and served as editor-in-chief for three years. In January 2017, Lombardi took a position with The Ringer. He announced via Twitter in March 2019 that he had left The Ringer to work on his own podcast, and he currently works for The Athletic and as a football analyst for the Vegas Stats & Information Network. In September 2017, Mike Lombardi made headlines by criticizing Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson: "He might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL.".. Pederson would lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship later that season.
Writing
Lombardi has written one book, Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Winning Championships and Building Dynasties in the NFL, published in September 2018.
Personal life
Lombardi is not related to Green Bay Packers coaching legend Vince Lombardi. He is an avid reader with an interest in Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon B. Johnson. He and his wife, Millie, have two sons: Matt, who is a coach for the Carolina Panthers; and Mick, who has been a coach for the New England Patriots since the 2019 season. He is also a huge fan of the TV seriesThe Sopranos.
