University of North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi spoke to the media on Tuesday to discuss a new era in Chapel Hill under head coach Bill Belichick.
In all that he said in a Q&A session with reporters, one thing that stood out the most was the comparison of what they are trying to build to an NFL team.
When asked about changes that had been made to the Tar Heels strength and conditioning program Lomabrdi answered, “Everything we do here is predicated on building a pro team. We consider ourselves the 33rd (NFL) team because everybody involved with our program has had some form of aspect in pro football."
Lombardi was certainly not lying in citing the pro football experience now at UNC with the staff that has been assembled by 8-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.
The new UNC GM has over 30 years of NFL experience himself in roles ranging from a scout with the San Francisco 49ers to general manager of the Cleveland Browns. He also has seen first-hand what it takes to be great at the pro level as he spent considerable time working closely with some of the league's greatest of all-time in Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Belichick in New England.
On top of Lombardi and Belichick, experience can be found all over the staff with head strength and conditioning director Moses Cabrera who was also part of the Patriots dynasty, offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens who spent over 10 years in the league, and several other coaching assistants and personal members.
The question is, will this way of building a team and a program work at the college level? Only time will be able to definitely answer that question but I believe it may take more time than we think for Belichick to get this program where he wants it.
Lombardi made this known in his presser discussing the emphasis they are putting on develoment. “It's really about us developing, and that development comes from their ability to grasp into the system,” he said and continued on with some wisdom he learned from Walsh, “‘the first year, we'll teach you the system. The second year, we'll develop the skills of the system.' Player Development is really important.”
I believe putting this emphasis on development and creating an NFL-like environment in Chapel Hill is a great recruiting tool that Lombardi is utilizing. Most recruits are going to play college football with hopes of making it to the NFL, and who would not want to get an early feel for what it is like to be in the league and be coached and mentored by individuals who have been there before. I do wonder though if they will be able to find the right guys who are willing to develop and stay at UNC without doing what has become so routine at the college level and jumping in the transfer portal.
There is no doubt the way North Carolina will go about doing things in the Belichick era will be unlike anything college football has ever seen. But with players now making large sums of money, just like those in the NFL, maybe the best way is to treat the players as professional athletes and treat the team like the 33rd in the league.