[1][2] Lombardi also previously served as an NFL executive with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Oakland Raiders.
[6] In 1981, Lombardi was hired as a recruiting coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas by Rebels' head coach Harvey Hyde.
Later, he became the Browns' director of player personnel and worked under head coach Bill Belichick managing drafts, negotiating contracts and acquiring free agents.
[1] Sports and pop culture essayist Chuck Klosterman described Lombardi as, "a detail freak and a polymath, or at least a person successfully attempting to impersonate one" after spending time with him at the Cleveland Browns facility in the hours leading up to the 2013 NFL draft.
He also spent portions of 1998 and 1999 as an editorial consultant and studio analyst for CBS Sports as on-air talent for the NFL Today pre-game show.
[19] That same year, Lombardi began contributing to several NFL Network shows, including as an in-studio analyst and reporting live from individual games.
[22] When he joined Fox, national networks president Jamie Horowitz said in a statement, "Michael is a thought-provoking and insightful football analyst with an impressive résumé.
[21][23] In January 2017, Lombardi took a position with The Ringer where he hosted the "GM Street" podcast with Tate Frazier and also wrote articles on occasion for the website.
[25] He currently hosts The GM Shuffle podcast with Femi Abebefe and co-hosts a program called The Lombardi Line for VSiN Vegas Stats & Information Network.