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Michael Lombardi

AFC Notes: Jackson, Miller, Fitzpatrick

November 20th, 2019 at 11:07am CST by Marc Delucchi

Former Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and the Ravens released a statement denying a report by Michael Lombardi of The Athletic claiming Mornhinweg wanted to move Lamar Jackson to wide receiver. Jackson, of course, was the subject of much debate as a draft prospect with many pundits, including ESPN’s Bill Polian, calling for a position change to wide receiver.

Jackson, however, remained adamant that he was a quarterback, was selected in the first round by Baltimore and has taken the NFL by storm over the past two seasons. Mornhinweg, who was replaced by Greg Roman as the team’s offensive coordinator entering this season, made clear in his statement that “My thoughts before the draft, and even more when we started working with Lamar, was that this young man was going to be a special quarterback.” Regardless of what his opinions were at the time, Jackson has proven he is an NFL signalcaller.

Here’s more notes from around the AFC:

  • The Broncos were deflated after blowing a 20-0 lead in their 27-23 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. To try and help team moral, all-pro linebacker Von Miller organized a team dinner just a couple hours after landing back in Denver, according to Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. Per Newman’s report, the dinner was a resounding success. Players brought their family members and seemed to rebound from their loss and get ready for another week.
  • Dolphins head coach Brian Flores told reporters that Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain Miami’s starting quarterback this week against the Browns, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Flores, however, would not rule out the possibility of backup quarterback Josh Rosen retaking the job from Fitzpatrick at some point this season.

AFC East Rumors: Roman, Dolphins, Patriots

September 17th, 2016 at 7:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Greg Roman‘s early-season dismissal has generated consistent fallout since the Bills and their OC parted ways on Friday. The latest comes from Bills sources who are glad the firing occurred.

“I haven’t talked to anybody that isn’t excited about the move,” a Bills source told Tom Pelissero of USA Today.

According to the sources, Bills players believed their offense lacked an identity, even as the team raced to the top of the NFL in rushing in 2015. They saw an offense that would change randomly from week to week instead of building on what was working, per Pelissero, leaving the team prone to three-and-outs when big plays didn’t occur.

Here’s the latest from the AFC East.

  • The Dolphins did not appear to like DeVante Parker‘s approach to healing a troublesome hamstring this offseason, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. The second-year wideout’s nutritional habits were less than ideal, per Salguero, who adds the projected starter perhaps wasn’t doing enough in practice to prepare his muscles for game speed. Parker missed Week 1 with a hamstring injury.
  • Similarly, the team has soured somewhat on Jay Ajayi. The second-year ball-carrier was a healthy scratch against the Seahawks and, per Salguero, did not like being deployed in Miami’s fourth preseason game. Another undetermined Ajayi action at the Dolphins’ facility helped lead to Adam Gase leaving him off the travel list for Seattle, Salguero reports, and Gase wanted to send him a professionalism-fueled message. The first-year coach told media Ajayi showed more maturity since the benching, but the 2015 fifth-round pick who was the starter before Arian Foster‘s arrival delivered the same response to nine questions Friday in a two-minute interview, Salguero reports.
  • The Patriots paid out varying injury settlements to defensive lineman Frank Kearse, running back Tyler Gaffney and linebacker Kevin Snyder, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports. Kearse received $201K for what amounts to eight weeks of pay, with Gaffney’s Pats divorce netting the running back $117K, or six weeks’ salary, Volin reports. Snyder’s was just $25K (one week). The trio released from the Pats’ IR cannot sign with another team until their settlements pay out.
  • Former New England executive Michael Lombardi has indeed resurfaced in the media, accepting a position with Fox Sports. On a Friday appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast, the former Pats front office staffer and Browns GM categorized Jimmy Garoppolo as a superior deep-ball thrower to Tom Brady. “[Garoppolo] does things really well and in the right scheme, in the right system, he can be really effective. He throws the ball vertically down the field better than [Brady] does,” Lombardi told Simmons (via Doug Kyed of NESN.com). “And he can make throws all over the field. He can move around.” Kyed points out the 39-year-old Brady ranks 36th of 45 qualified quarterbacks with at least 100 deep attempts since 2012.

East Notes: Cousins, Brady, Lombardi, Jets

June 26th, 2016 at 9:58am CST by Rory Parks

The latest reports on contract talks between the Redskins and Kirk Cousins suggested that the two sides may not be reaching a long-term pact prior to the July 15 deadline, and that Cousins may consequently play out the 2016 season on the $19.95MM franchise tender. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB pointed out, Washington could be playing with fire if, as expected, Andrew Luck signs a record-breaking extension with the Colts and Cousins turns in another strong year.

Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com echoes those sentiments. He believes that, as we are still nearly three weeks away from July 15, both player and team are exercising the appropriate amount of patience and are right to not rush into a deal, but he does note that the Redskins have to be worried about the pending Luck contract. As Tandler writes, Washington could lock up Cousins today for something in the neighborhood of $20MM per year, but if they wait until next season, the club could end up paying more than $40MM more over the life of Cousins’ contract than if it acts now.

Let’s take a look at a few more links from the league’s east divisions:

  • Tomorrow marks five full weeks since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady filed a request for an en banc hearing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, legal experts anticipated that the Court would take no more than six weeks to make its decision, so Brady should know within the next few days whether he will get a second bite at the appellate apple.
  • Ben Volin of The Boston Globe hears that Michael Lombardi‘s recent departure from the Patriots was not as mutual as it was first reported. Volin writes that New England was happy to have Lombardi serve as the team’s assistant to the coaching staff the past two years, because most of his salary was still being paid by the Browns, but after Lombardi’s contract expired, the Patriots chose not to keep Lombardi on the books. Volin adds that head coach Bill Belichick was Lombardi’s only real ally inside the building, and that Lombardi’s role in bringing in former Browns like Jabaal Sheard and Dion Lewis was overstated.
  • In his ongoing examination of each team’s best and worst contracts, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com writes that the best deal on the Jets‘ books is Brandon Marshall‘s, whereas Fitzgerald believes David Harris‘ deal is the team’s worst contract.

AFC Notes: Lombardi, Polumbus, Ravens, Fins

June 18th, 2016 at 5:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mike Lombardi‘s departure from the Patriots after two seasons could close a Cleveland-to-New England pipeline to some degree, and that particular route has been successful to the Pats recently.

The veteran front office executive helped tip Bill Belichick to Dion Lewis and assisted in paving the way for Jabaal Sheard to join the Patriots, Tom Curran of CSNNE.com notes.

Lewis spent 2013 on the Browns’ IR after breaking his leg and did not make Cleveland’s 2014 roster. But Lombardi, fired from his brief post as Browns GM in February 2014, helped bring the scatback to the Patriots, with whom Lewis proved explosive, totaling 622 yards from scrimmage in six starts in 2015.

The Patriots extended Lewis quickly last season, signing him for a minuscule two years and $3MM in October before he tore his ACL a month later.

Here’s the latest from the AFC.

  • During the Dolphins‘ stadium renovation fight, Miami Gardens mayor Oliver Gilbert feared owner Stephen Ross could move the team if he didn’t receive public money to help fund an upgrade that ended up costing approximately $500MM, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. Although Ross ended up financing the stadium with private money, Gilbert took the threat seriously, per Beasley. “I worried some, because sometime people don’t necessarily know what they have until it’s gone, and I never want that to be the case,” Gilbert said. “It’s interesting that we like to call ourselves a world-class community. To be a world-class community, you have to have the Miami Dolphins, you have to have the Miami Heat. You also have to have culture and the arts. You have to have all of those things. It’s a composite.” The project, though, only has a chance at being completed by the Sept. 1 deadline, when the Dolphins host the Titans in the teams’ preseason finale.
  • Peyton Manning wasn’t the only Broncos cog to make a mid-game entrance during the team’s seminal Week 17 victory over the Chargers last season. Tyler Polumbus replaced an ineffective Michael Schofield at right tackle when Manning entered in the third quarter. But the two-time Bronco did not keep that spot in the playoffs, with Schofield reclaiming the job; Polumbus then retired after in April. But in an expansive piece on former Broncos tight end Jeb Putzier‘s struggle stemming from the concussions he sustained while playing in Denver during the 2000s, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post reports the now-31-year-old Polumbus retired because of an MRI that showed a herniated disc in his neck and four degenerated discs in his lower back that, per Polumbus, caused significant pain last season. He collected a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos after the team, which initially added him as a UDFA in 2008, brought him aboard as a waiver claim early last season.
  • Now that the Ravens cut Eugene Monroe, the only position battle on Baltimore’s offensive line figures to be at left guard between John Urschel and rookie Alex Lewis, John Eisenberg of BaltimoreRavens.com writes. Urschel stepped in at guard last season, with the Ravens moving since-departed Kelechi Osemele to tackle. A rookie fourth-round pick Lewis, per Eisenberg, turned heads at minicamp this month but adds that John Harbaugh likely won’t start two rookies on the left side. Ronnie Stanley almost certainly will begin the season as the Ravens’ left tackle.

Extra Points: Monroe, Arians, Jets, Tebow, Pats

June 17th, 2016 at 8:04pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent offensive tackle Eugene Monroe will likely begin visiting prospective employers next week, reports Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With training camp still a good distance away, Monroe will take his time before signing somewhere, adds Fowler. Since the Ravens released him Wednesday, Monroe has reportedly drawn interest from the Giants, Seahawks and 49ers. In addition to those three clubs, PFR’s Dallas Robinson analyzed five others that could sign the 29-year-old.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians told Andrea Kremer of HBO that he felt “betrayed” when the Steelers let him go after the 2011 season, ending his five-year stint as their offensive coordinator (via Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic). “I had admired Mike Tomlin so much. And I really thought he was a coach who really cared about his people. And for him to do this, well, I felt very disillusioned,” said Arians, who accused Tomlin of reneging on a promise to renew his contract. Arians believes the perception that he was too close with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger – with whom he won a Super Bowl – contributed to his demise in Pittsburgh. The 63-year-old also told Kremer he was “legitimately retired” after his tenure with the Steelers concluded, but Colts head coach Chuck Pagano then hired him as Indianapolis’ O-coordinator. Arians ended up as Indy’s head coach for 12 games, leading the team to a 9-3 record as Pagano battled leukemia. That success paved the way for Arians to land in Arizona, where he has helped the Cardinals to a sterling 34-17 regular-season mark and three straight playoff appearances.
  • With both quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson at loggerheads with the Jets over money, the team is on track to open training camp July 27 in less-than-ideal fashion, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini doesn’t expect Fitzpatrick – who’s still a free agent – to re-sign with the club by then, while the Jets and Wilkerson are too far apart on his next contract to hammer out a long-term agreement by the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players. Wilkerson will lose $900K per week if he holds out into the regular season, notes Cimini, so the likelihood is the Pro Bowler will ultimately sign his $15.7MM franchise tender this summer and play out the year under that.
  • Free agent Tim Tebow could take another crack at making an NFL roster as a quarterback, he told Larry King (via Mark Fischer of the New York Daily News). “You pursue what’s on your heart, you pursue what you’re passionate about and for me in the game of football, is the position of quarterback,” said the 28-year-old. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, was one of the Eagles’ final cuts last summer. He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2012, when he was a backup signal-caller with the Jets.
  • Longtime front office executive Michael Lombardi is leaving the Patriots, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. No reason has been given for Lombardi’s exit, but the former NFL Network analyst could be headed to HBO to join Bill Simmons’ new venture, according to Reiss. Lombardi, whom the Pats hired in 2013 as an assistant to their coaching staff, was previously the general manager in Cleveland.

Latest on Jim Harbaugh

December 20th, 2014 at 10:46am CST by Ben Levine

We learned yesterday that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was seriously considering Michigan’s job offer, with his family pushing him to take the college gig. However, reports suggest that Harbaugh wants to stay in the NFL, or at least explore the options that will open up following the season.

Of course, the Harbaugh rumblings have continued as everyone awaits the head coach’s decision. Let’s check out some of the notable whispers…

  • As Harbaugh debates whether he wants to accept the job at Michigan or stay in the NFL, the Wolverines are anxiously awaiting the decision. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the head coach is likely waiting to see which NFL opportunities open up. Meanwhile, Michigan would like to fill their head coaching vacancy before the top candidates sign elsewhere.
  • Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports opines that Harbaugh will stay in the NFL, and he points to the Raiders as the likeliest landing spot (via Twitter). The writer adds that Harbaugh is “10,000 percent” leaving the 49ers.
  • ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson writes that Harbaugh will surely be allowed to bring his own general manager if he signs with the Raiders. Williamson suggests Eagles Vice President of Player Personnel Tom Gamble and Patriots coaching assistant Michael Lombardi as a fit.
  • Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com believes the top candidate from outside the 49ers organization to replace Harbaugh would be Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The writer notes that McDaniels turned down a chance to interview with San Francisco in 2011 (via Twitter).
  • ESPN’s Chris Mortensen also suggests McDaniels, and he mentions another candidate to replace Harbaugh: Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase (via Florio).

AFC Notes: Knighton, Browns, Nicks, Pats

April 28th, 2014 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

After seeing a number of defensive tackles cash in on the free agent market this year, Terrance Knighton knows he could’ve made out well if he didn’t have one year remaining on his contract with the Broncos. However, despite a modest $2.5MM 2014 salary, the man known as “Pot Roast” won’t be holding out, writes Mike Klis of the Denver Post.

“I’m definitely going to honor the contract,” Knighton said. “I want to get something done and I’d like to get something done here. I don’t want to bounce around. But I’m at the point now where once the season starts, I’m just strictly football.”

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • Speaking to Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com, CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz strongly suggested that it was former Browns GM Michael Lombardi who was trying to land Jim Harbaugh for the Cleveland coaching job.
  • Meanwhile, Lombardi’s replacement, Ray Farmer spoke to reporters today and made a handful of interest comments about the draft’s top prospects as well as the possibility of trading up or down. The Browns general manager expects to speak to all 31 NFL GMs in the week leading up to the draft, and about eight or 10 GMs in the 24 hours before draft night. Marla Ridenour of Ohio.com has the quotes from Farmer.
  • As he tells Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, Ahmad Bradshaw did his part in recruiting former Giants teammate Hakeem Nicks to the Colts last month. “I went to his house a week before (his signing) and was just telling him how great it is over here,” Bradshaw said. “I think it kind of helped his decision. I was really encouraging him to come over.”
  • Recent Patriots signees Darrelle Revis, Julian Edelman, and Brandon LaFell all had deferred payments on their signing bonuses that won’t be paid out until March 31, 2015, writes Field Yates of ESPN.com. In total, more than $5MM of the trio’s $18MM in signing bonus money will be paid out next year. Yates also notes that Josh Hull‘s contract with the Pats is a minimum-salary deal with no bonuses.

Patriots Hire Michael Lombardi

February 20th, 2014 at 11:00pm CST by Peter Sowards

After a tumultuous one-year tenure with the Browns, Michael Lombardi was on his way out of Cleveland.

He’s on his way to a reunion of sorts in New England, according to a release by the team.

The Patriots say Lombardi has been hired as an assistant to the coaching staff, “bringing 23 years of NFL experience as a front office executive.” Five years of experience was with Bill Belichick in Cleveland, with Belichick as head coach and Lombardi as pro personnel director and director of player personnel.

Lombardi went on to personnel positions with the Eagles and Raiders before working as an analyst and reporter, then joined the Browns last season.

Belichick was asked at the combine what Lombardi will be doing for the team, and the always-loquacious head coach gave another one of his trademark non-answers.

“Mike’s got a lot of experience. He’s done a lot of things in his career in the NFL. I’m sure he’ll be doing many of those things for us. We’ll see how it goes.”

Reiss On Patriots: McDaniels, Lombardi, Smith

February 16th, 2014 at 1:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ hesitation regarding the Browns head coaching vacancy was related to his desire not to become the next Eric Mangini. Mangini, also once a Patriots assistant, took head coaching jobs with both the Jets and the Browns. After uninspiring results at each stop, he is now 43 years old and might struggle to get another opportunity. McDaniels might look to take a more cautious, forward-thinking approach, aiming for the perfect fit rather than jumping at the first opportunity presented.

More Patriots notes from Reiss:

  • The notion that McDaniels actually did want the Browns job all along doesn’t seem to make sense, according to Reiss. Given the Browns perceived desperation regarding their coaching search, it seems unlikely they wouldn’t have tried to lock down McDaniels if there was any chance to do so.
  • Speaking of the Browns, if former Cleveland GM Mike Lombardi does end up joining the Patriots front office, it will likely be in a consultant-type role, similar to that previously held by Floyd Reese in New England.
  • Even if the Patriots get any more cap room based on the Aaron Hernandez contract situation, it is unlikely to be resolved quickly enough to affect this offseason’s spending.
  • Reiss elaborates on his earlier contention that the recently released Will Smith could be an option for the Patriots.

Latest On Browns’ Front Office

February 13th, 2014 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

After parting ways with the Browns, former Cleveland general manager Michael Lombardi doesn’t seem likely to rejoin the NFL Network or another media outlet. Instead, it appears Lombardi could reach an agreement with the Patriots to join New England’s front office. Chris Fedor of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland first reported (via Twitter) that Lombardi seemed to be on track to join the Patriots, though he cautioned that nothing was finalized yet. Several other similar reports followed, most recently from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who tweets this morning that Lombardi has had discussions about joining the Pats, though “nothing is firm or official yet.”

While Lombardi talks to the Patriots, Ray Farmer is settling into his role as the Browns’ new GM, and CEO Joe Banner is in the process of transitioning out of the organization. We have a few more details on them and some leftovers from the Browns’ coaching search, so let’s round up the highlights….

  • League sources tell Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Banner and Lombardi ended on bad terms with one another in Cleveland, with their discord prompting owner Jimmy Haslam to let go of both execs.
  • According to Cabot, Banner wanted to fire Lombardi by the end of the team’s lengthy coaching search. At the same time, Haslam had grown weary of Banner, feeling that some of the Browns’ head coaching targets weren’t willing to accept, or even interview for, the club’s coaching job because of Banner’s position in the front office.
  • Ken Whisenhunt and Bill O’Brien were among the candidates who had concerns about the Browns’ management team, according to Cabot.
  • In addition to there being internal discord over Greg Schiano‘s candidacy, as we heard yesterday, Haslam and Banner were also at odds over Josh McDaniels, says Cabot. Haslam was more enthusiastic about McDaniels, and while reports indicated McDaniels pulled out of the mix, the Patriots offensive coordinator actually contacted the Browns to get his name back into consideration. He remained in the running right up until the Browns decided on Mike Pettine, according to Cabot.
  • Cabot writes that Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase was the only candidate on the Browns’ list to actually decline an interview, which seems to contradict an earlier suggestion that O’Brien wasn’t interested in interviewing with the team. Perhaps O’Brien wasn’t formally on the Browns’ list of targets this time around, after interviewing with the club a year ago.
  • In the first installment of a two-part piece for ESPNCleveland.com, Tony Grossi spoke to Farmer about taking over as the Browns’ general manager.
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