Fresh out of college, Mick Lombardi began his NFL life as a scouting assistant with the New England Patriots.
He was there for two seasons and remained under contract to the Patriots when he asked coach Bill Belichick for a favor.
While Lombardi attended Fordham University in New York, he began dating Michelle Ancelj, a standout soccer player from Millbrae. She moved back to the Bay Area after college.
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Meanwhile, Lombardi was all the way across the country when he had an opportunity to join Jim Harbaugh’s staff with the 49ers in 2013.
“Coach Belichick let me leave, because I told him this was the girl I was going to marry,” Lombardi told NBC Sports Bay Area. “This was a good opportunity for me personally and professionally.
“We always joke that Jim Harbaugh coming to the Niners is the reason we’re still together — nine years married and three kids later.”
Lombardi ended up serving in a variety of roles with the 49ers, beginning with "assistant to the head coach." He spent time coaching on both sides of the ball and remained with the 49ers under coaches Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly.
San Francisco 49ers
Now, Lombardi, 35, is back with the 49ers after he accepted an offer early in the offseason to join Kyle Shanahan’s staff as senior offensive assistant.
“People who know him well and know me well, people spoke very highly of him as a person,” Shanahan said of Lombardi.
“I loved his background, and after talking with him on the phone, I felt like it was going to be a really good fit. And it's been great so far.”
Between his two stints with the 49ers, Lombardi served as an assistant with the New York Jets, and he coached wide receivers and quarterbacks with the Patriots. His first season back with New England was Tom Brady's final year with the organization.
Then, Lombardi followed Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022. He was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator until Oct. 31, when he was fired in the middle of the season, along with McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.
Lombardi will return to Las Vegas on Friday night in his new role with the 49ers, who wrap up their preseason against the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Lombardi has landed on his feet in an ideal situation. He said he wanted an opportunity to contribute to a winning program. He describes his mission as doing whatever is necessary to assist Shanahan, run game coordinator Chris Foerster and offensive passing game specialist Klay Kubiak.
“I hold no grudges toward the Raiders organization,” Lombardi said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity they gave me, and I’m going to learn from it and try to do better with my next opportunity.
“I’m going to pour everything I have into this job because I’m hungry to be part of a winning organization. I wish we’d given that to the Raiders, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out, for whatever reason. I’m happy I’m sitting here right now.”
Lombardi’s upbringing might have prepared him for the harsh realities of the business. His father is long-time NFL executive Michael Lombardi, whom Shanahan got to know during their one season together in 2014 with the Cleveland Browns.
“My dad always says, ‘This is the business we chose,’” Mick Lombardi said. “It’s a performance-based business, and if you don’t do a good enough job in terms of winning football games, you know that you’re vulnerable.”
Obviously, Shanahan also grew up around the game with his father, Mike, a two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach. He said he believes that perspective from a young age is beneficial
“I always like people who've kind of grown up in an intense football background since they were born, not just after they left college,” he said. “So I think that always helps guys, gives them an advantage.”
Despite annual losses to his staff Shanahan has found a way to always maintain a group of strong assistant coaches.
Lombardi broke into coaching with Harbaugh. In a short period of time with Shanahan he sees similarities between the 49ers' two most-successful coaches of the past three decades.
Shanahan takes a hands-on approach and is known as one of the top offensive minds in today’s game. Harbaugh is more of a CEO-type whose focus is on culture and mindset.
“They go about it in a different way, but they try to get to the same endpoint,” Lombardi said. “When the ball kicks off on Sunday, they want to be the most physically and mentally tough team to handle any adversity that comes up in the game.”
Lombardi faced his own kind of adversity last year with the Raiders. But even that misfortune had a positive twist.
With assistance from Belichick and Harbaugh, Lombardi and Michelle were married on June 27, 2015. The couple has two sons, Dominic and Michael, and a daughter, Sienna.
As his dad told him, it’s the professional he has chosen. He got fired. He said his focus was not on bitterness or regrets but on using it as a learning experience and turning it into a positive.
“It happens,” he said. “It’s hard on your family logistically from moving all the time. But we coach football for a living. There could be a lot harder jobs to do. I’m lucky enough to have this one.”