North Carolina football has been calling itself the "33rd NFL team," but the results haven't exactly backed that up — and now, the man who helped build the roster is under a national microscope.
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General manager Mike Lombardi, the former NFL executive turned college football architect, has become the focus of a new Pablo Torre Finds Out deep dive. The latest episode questions Lombardi's NFL résumé and how much of his reputation really matches reality.
The show, co-hosted by David Fleming, outlines three major takeaways.
First, Lombardi has long touted his connection to the late Bill Walsh, often citing the 49ers legend in his book Gridiron Genius. But according to Walsh's son, Craig Walsh, that connection was minimal.
"He might have been like the gofer/chauffeur," Craig told Torre. "He was part of the organization, but all he did was go get sandwiches."
Second, Lombardi's claim that he left the Patriots voluntarily to write his book doesn't hold up, according to Torre's reporting. He was actually fired after the 2016 draft, following what sources described as a near-staff mutiny.
Even names like Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, Nick Caserio, and Ernie Adams reportedly pushed for his exit.
Third, about those three Super Bowl rings Lombardi often mentions — Torre's team found he officially earned just one. The 49ers never gave him a ring for 1984, and the Patriots didn't include him in their 2016 haul. Instead, Bill Belichick personally bought him a "friends-and-family" version.
So the self-proclaimed "three-time Super Bowl winner"? Technically, just one.
