CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) — The new college football season is still six months away but the work behind the scenes to prepare for those games is happening right now.
The University of North Carolina’s new general manager Michael Lombardi met with the media Tuesday for the first time since assuming the position.
Lombardi spoke for about 30 minutes to give an update on the scope of UNC football and its recruiting efforts.
Lombardi, a longtime confidant of new head coach Bill Belichick, echoed the legendary coach’s attitude that the Tar Heels program will model an NFL franchise.
UNC’s new general manager echoed head coach Bill Belichick’s approach to running an NFL-style program at UNC.
“Everything we do here is predicated on building a pro team. We consider ourselves the 33rd team,” Lombardi said. “Because everybody involved with our program has had some aspect of pro football.”
He also spoke about the challenges of recruiting and evaluating players in college as opposed to the NFL.
Michael Lombardi says the volume of players to evaluate is a major difference between the college game and the NFL.
“When you work as the general manager in the NFL, you’re dealing with one draft class, you’re dealing with one free-agent class, and you can prepare for that,” Lombardi said. “Now, you’re dealing with the ’26 class, the ’27 class, the ’28 class, so there’s a lot more names to deal with. So, there’s more volume than it would be in pro football but the job is very similar.”
He said it was all about predicting a player’s talent and their character and then developing that potential.
Lombardi said the Tar Heels would be built “inside out.”
“Teams that can control the offensive and defensive lines win games,” he added.
Spring ball for UNC is right around the corner as the Tar Heels prepare to kick off the new season in September.
“That’s why we’re always looking at the player and asking what’s the most important thing? What obstacles have they overcome?”
Lombardi also added that efforts would be made to place more emphasis on honoring UNC football greats from the past.
“There’s a lot of pride in this program and there is a lot of pride in this university, and I think our job is to bring it out.”
Michael Lombardi says the people of Chapel Hill have been open and welcoming and take great pride in the university.
Copyright © 2025 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
