Tag: mike lombardi

Former NFL executive says he’d rather have Sam Howell than Jayden Daniels?

Lombardi’s track record isn’t very good.

Former NFL executive Mike Lombardi is never one to shy away from saying something controversial. More often than not, Lombardi’s outspoken criticisms don’t age well.

These days, Lombardi co-hosts a podcast covering the NFL and pops up on the radio from time to time. On Monday, he was a guest of the “Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.

No surprise, Lombardi was outspoken.

“I said this to three or four head coaches in the league this offseason: I would rather have had Sam Howell than a lot of these quarterbacks that are drafted in the first round,” he said via Lou DiPietro of Audacy.

“Other than Caleb Williams, I probably would rather have Sam Howell than any of them. What do you think Jayden Daniels would have done in that offense last year? He would have never made it through Week 3! (Howell) is tougher than nails. He got the crap beat out of him, and they gave him no help at all. Riverboat Ron was standing over there watching Bieniemy call passes and he was too scared to tell him to not do it. He was completely intimidated by him. He didn’t want to rattle the cages, or do anything politically that could upset things. The players were upset with Ron for not saying something!”

A lot of what Lombardi said here is on the money. Howell is tough, Bieniemy was bad as Washington’s OC and Rivera stood there with his arms crossed for much of the season. However, to say he’d rather have Howell than Daniels is probably a stretch. This is how you pose this question: If all 32 NFL teams had a quarterback need and held the No. 2 overall pick, would they choose Daniels or stick with Howell?

It’s fair to say that most would go with Daniels.

Back to Howell. He can play. We’ve gone on record multiple times stating that he is a starting quarterback in the NFL. He was put in a horrible position last season, and despite lots of promise in the first half, he predictably crashed in the second half. He had no help from the coaching staff.

Washington general manager Adam Peters had the chance to stick with Howell, trade down for a haul of picks and build around him. He chose Daniels. That’s not a knock on Howell, but likely how almost all other NFL decisionmakers would have proceeded, too.

Mike Lombardi: Sean Payton wanted Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes in 2017 NFL draft

Mike Lombardi told Pat McAfee that Sean Payton tried to select #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL draft.

The tale of the Kansas City Chiefs trading up in the 2017 NFL draft to select Patrick Mahomes has been told from many different angles. According to another source, the franchise-changing and league-altering moment could’ve gone a different way.

Front office veteran Mike Lombardi appeared as a guest on Wednesday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” to share his thoughts on this year’s NFL draft. He provided an example of Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s mindset in evaluating quarterbacks in the draft process.

“Let’s just say that Sean Payton has really done a good job in his career of evaluating quarterbacks when he was with Bill Parcells in Dallas,” said Lombardi. “He wanted Tony Romo, so they signed him as a college free agent.”

Lombardi pointed out a specific example of Payton’s plans from the 2017 draft. As head coach of the New Orleans Saints, he sought a deal to move up and select Mahomes.

“Some of these teams see some things in the quarterbacks that they can make them better players,” Lombardi said. “Remember, Sean Payton wanted to draft Mahomes; he lost out. Think about how the league would have been dramatically different had the Saints made that trade and not the Chiefs.

“I don’t think if Sean likes a quarterback, and I don’t know if he likes to go next or not, I have no idea. But if he likes one, you [have got to] believe he likes them for a reason. He’s going to develop them.”

The Chiefs landed one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history and haven’t looked back. Payton and the Broncos are evaluating many options in this weekend’s draft to try to score a franchise quarterback.

Raiders new OC Mick Lombardi ‘grew up a Raider’

Raiders new OC Mick Lombardi back in organization he knew as a teen “In high school I would go down to the Raiders facility and I would use old Beta tape”

If you’re a Raiders fan and the name Mick Lombardi has a familiar ring to it, it should. Mick is the Raiders’ new offensive coordinator. And his dad, Michael, spent a decade with the Raiders from 1998-2007 as a senior personnel executive.

Mick is just 33 years old. This means he was ten years old when his dad joined the Raiders.

You could say Mick grew up a Raider. Or he could.

“I grew up a Raider,” the Raiders’ new OC said Friday. “My father and my mom, my brother, if you asked them what organization was most impactful to our time as a family they would probably say the Raider organization.”

His dad went on to become the GM of the Browns for two years and later become an assistant with the Patriots for a couple years. But no stop had a greater impact on Mick’s career in football than the ten years his dad spent with the Raiders, which coincided with his teenage years.

“My father has a vast experience in the personnel department,” Mick continued. “He has instilled in my a great love for football. My time in high school and stuff, I would go down to the Raiders facility and I would use old Beta tape and I would cut out tape and use the time codes and stuff like that and make up the POA tapes.”

Mick went on to attend Fordham University and upon graduation, became a coach’s assistant. From there he got his first NFL job as a scouting assistant with the Patriots.

He broke into coaching in 2013 as an assistant with the 49ers. Four years in San Francisco followed by two years with the Jets and he returned to New England, this time as an assistant coach under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

So, when it came time for McDaniels to get his second shot at being a head coach, he brought Mick over with him as his OC.

“Obviously my time with the Patriots was unbelievable. I can’t thank coach [Bill] Belichick, Mr [Robert] Kraft, and the organization enough for my time there. But obviously, when Josh had a chance to come out here and interview, I was happy for him. Still was focused on my job in New England. And obviously when the opportunity came and he wanted to interview me for this position here. Very excited. I know it was a long process to interview some great people. Then when the time came for me to come out here, I was very excited and very blessed to be part of this organization and Mr. Davis and everybody involved here.

“It’s a special time. Obviously it’s not the Bay Area, it’s Las Vegas, which is different. It was did in Oakland it would have been a really, really unique experience, but we’re excited to be here.”

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Mike Lombardi: Giants a ‘perfect example’ of NFL’s flawed minority hiring system

The Athletic’s Mike Lombardi believes the New York Giants are a “perfect example” of the NFL’s flawed minority hiring system.

The NFL has a very real problem when it comes to minority hiring, both at the general manager and head coaching levels, and some recent proposals have caused more harm than good.

Currently, the NFL features just two minority general managers and four minority head coaches despite a deep and diverse pool of minority scouts, assistant coaches and executives.

The Athletic’s Michael Lombardi has seen these issue firsthand. He spent time in front offices across the NFL, including with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. And from the outside looking in here in 2020, Lombardi believes the New York Giants are a “perfect example” of the flawed minority hiring system.

As an example, the New York Giants recently hired special teams coach Joe Judge from the Patriots as their head coach, even though their own special teams coach Thomas McGaughey, who is African American, is one of the league’s best and brightest. This is not a knock on Judge as a coach or a potential head coach. It’s more of an example of how things operate in the coaching search. McCaughey has more experience than Judge, played briefly in the league and started coaching when Judge was still in high school. McGaughey has been around successful programs and has paid his dues in the coaching ranks. Yet he never had a chance. Why? Many might say because he is a minority, which might have some truth, but it’s also because McGaughey was not electable to the media or fans.

While special teams coaches are never going to be household names that fans will get excited about, Judge had some cache because of his association with the Patriots, which helped John Mara, the president of the Giants, get him elected. McGaughey might be the better coach, but coming off two losing seasons, he was just not electable. The fact that Judge retained McGaughey on his staff based on the recommendations of Mara and the front office is a telltale sign the Giants recognize he is a quality coach, but to them he’s not electable for a bigger gig right now.

There’s little doubt McGaughey, who is great with players, is a top-end assistant coach and deserves a look at a higher-ranking position, but as Lombardi notes, he was a holdover from a previous failed regime and the Giants wouldn’t have been able to sell that hire.

In an effort to improve upon these issues, NFL owners approved some modifications to The Rooney Rule this past Tuesday. Teams must now interview two external minority candidates for any vacant head coaching position and one external minority candidate for any vacant coordinator position.

Additionally, teams must interview one external minority candidate for any vacant senior football operations and general manager job, as well as establish minority coaching fellowship programs.

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