North Carolina GM Michael Lombardi is already on the ropes in Chapel Hill, and the noise around him only got louder after a former front office employee filed a complaint with the school’s human resources department, leading to his administrative leave.
Before all of that, Lombardi had built a public profile by backing Bill Belichick on his podcast with The Ringer. He also found time to go after Miami coach Mario Cristobal after the Hurricanes went 10-2 in 2024 and still missed the playoff.
At the center of that criticism was Lombardi’s suggestion that Cristobal was a coach who could recruit but couldn’t quite deliver at the top level. That take landed poorly, especially with Cristobal’s résumé already including a pair of Pac-12 titles at Oregon and a conference title at FIU.
By the time Lombardi was taking those shots, Cristobal’s 2024 season had already strengthened the case for Miami’s direction. Dennis Smith and Cristobal had spent the earlier years rebuilding the program from the ground up, and the results have put Miami in the conversation as one of the favorites to win the CFP championship.
The contrast is hard to miss. Cristobal has a track record that gives his decisions weight. Lombardi, meanwhile, has mostly been attached to successful people and successful programs, and his public commentary has not aged well now that UNC’s own situation has turned messy.
The criticism also drew a sharp response from Miami’s side, with Dennis Smith firing back at Lombardi on social media.
There was also a broader point in the original jab: Cristobal is not beyond criticism, but Lombardi’s credibility was always going to be the issue. He is tied closely to Belichick, and he carries a football name that sounds like authority even though he is not related to Vince Lombardi. But the source of the criticism mattered, and in this case the source made the message easy to dismiss.
Lombardi may have sounded confident on a podcast. On the field and in the front office, though, the picture looks very different.
Miami kept building. UNC kept stumbling.
In Other News...
Future Miami Commit Earns Major National Running Back Recognition
MaxPreps has already started rolling out its preseason buzz for the 2026 high school football season, and the running back list comes with the kind of national recognition that usually turns recruiting heads. The rankings mix elite production with college commitments, putting a spotlight on several prospects who are already drawing attention from major programs, including a Miami pledge who made the cut.
Ty Keys is the Hurricanes target to watch here, landing among the top 10 backs in the country as the preseason conversation begins to take shape. For Miami, any national nod attached to a future commit is worth noting, especially when it comes in a class of players that also features the reigning national player of the year and other high-end prospects, setting up a recruiting race that still has plenty of runway left. [Read more 🡒]
Miami May Be Closing In On A Huge Jacksonville Recruiting Win
Miamis push into Jacksonville for the 2028 class is starting to look like more than just an area of interest. The Hurricanes have put themselves in position with a couple of the citys most intriguing young prospects, including edge rusher Asher Ghioto and Bolles School running back Xander Edwards, who has already built a national profile as a sophomore. Edwards has picked up offers from several major programs, but Miami has stayed in the mix thanks in large part to the relationship he has formed with the staff.
For the Hurricanes, the running back picture is still taking shape, and that makes Edwards even more important to watch. Miami already has Ty Keys committed for 2027, and the staff is expected to chase multiple backs in 2028 unless the board shifts again around Myson Johnson-Cook. Edwards has given Miami plenty to work with, and the next step will be seeing whether that early connection can hold off a growing list of heavyweight suitors. [Read more 🡒]