The North Carolina football season isn’t going well, to say the least, but it remains interesting. Amid a disappointing 2-4 record—one that could very well end with just two wins—several off-field issues have caught the spotlight. Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick has reportedly considered stepping away, an assistant coach was suspended, and the team’s general manager has come under recent scrutiny.
Mike Lombardi, a longtime ally of Belichick, followed the eight-time Super Bowl champion to Chapel Hill, taking on the role of North Carolina football general manager. Although both spoke ambitiously about overhauling the Heels’ roster and transforming UNC into the “33rd NFL franchise,” North Carolina has yet to secure a victory against a power-conference team. In fact, the Tar Heels have been outscored 141-51 in those four losses.
Unfortunately, the on-field struggles are only part of the negative headlines surrounding Lombardi. Last week, journalist Pablo Torre reported that Lombardi left the team shortly before the season began to engage in fundraising activities in Saudi Arabia. This move reignited discussions about the regime’s human rights record and its attempts at “sportswashing.”
The latest revelations from Torre’s reporting, however, are less serious but notably strange. According to sources, Lombardi has repeatedly lied about how many Super Bowl rings he has earned. “Mike Lombardi was not issued an official Super Bowl 51 ring as a Patriots employee during the 2016-17 season, as much as he enjoys referring to all of the bling he’s won as a three-time Super Bowl champion,” Torre said on his podcast, *Pablo Torre Finds Out*.
Torre reported that Belichick gave Lombardi a “friends and family” ring instead, which is not an official Super Bowl ring. Adding more doubt, Chris Walsh—the son of three-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Walsh—stated that Lombardi, despite his claims, “doesn’t have a ring whatsoever” from the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl XIX victory in 1985. Walsh said Lombardi “was just there in a very, very limited role” at the time and described him as a possible “gopher chauffeur.”
Lombardi, 66, first began working with Belichick when Belichick became head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991. Lombardi started his career as a scout with Cleveland in 1987 and was promoted to pro personnel director in 1989. He held that position until 1993, when he became the director of player personnel under Belichick. The two reunited in 2014, when Lombardi was hired by Belichick as an assistant on the coaching staff.
As the North Carolina football program navigates these turbulent times, both on and off the field, fans and analysts alike continue to watch closely to see how the situation develops moving forward.
https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/north-carolina-football-news-mike-lombardi-lied-super-bowl-resume-pablo-torre
Be First to Comment