ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel tweeted today that UNC football’s general manager Michael Lombardi has resigned from his position. Lombardi was put on paid leave in late July, and now the ongoing saga has come to a merciful end.
We still do not have all the details of what led to Lombardi being put on leave, but there
have been reports that give us an idea of what it was related to. ESPN wrote a rather scathing article last week that detailed some of his behavior around the program. Here is a snippet from the article to give you an idea of just how messy he was:
“He oversaw a scouting and player acquisition process that, according to two sources, had virtually no coherent philosophy and resulted in a roster bereft of Power 4 talent. Another former staffer said Lombardi operated with a “ready, fire, aim” approach to rules and protocols despite a cascade of emails, memos and suggestions from an overwhelmed compliance department and longtime staffers. One person said he witnessed multiple occasions in which Lombardi verbally berated staff and assistant coaches who attempted to warn him about potential NCAA violations, with Lombardi telling one coach, ‘This is my f—ing show.’”
It’s worth checking out the full article to get a full grasp of what kind of chaos has been transpiring in Chapel Hill, but the big thing now is that one of the biggest distractions employed with the program is now gone. Bill Belichick will now have to find a new general manager, which is quite a predicament given the fact that the season just started. Still, having to find a new GM at the beginning of your season beats the alternative.
Now that the news is out there, we want to hear from all of you. Do you think Lombardi’s resignation will create a vibes shift in Chapel Hill? Do you think Belichick will hang around after the season now that his friend is gone? Let us know in the comments below.
