When the Las Vegas Raiders chose to part ways with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler during the season, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi was also relieved of his duties as well. Lombardi came over from the Patriots with McDaniels and Ziegler and with the offense struggling last season, the franchise felt it was best to go in another direction.
The Raiders were Lombardi’s first opportunity as an offensive coordinator. Even though McDaniels was the one calling plays, Lombardi still played a big role in the structure of the offense. At only 35 years old there is still plenty of time for Lombardi to grow in his coaching career and now he has landed his next job at a familiar spot.
According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Lombardi has been hired by the San Francisco 49ers to be part of Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staff in an undetermined role:
The 49ers have hired former Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi to a yet-to-be-titled spot on the coaching staff, coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area on Thursday night.
Lombardi, 35, previously worked for the 49ers in a variety of roles, beginning in 2013, when Jim Harbaugh hired him to the position of assistant to the head coach.
As Maiocco noted, Lombardi is familiar with the 49ers, having been hired by the team back in 2013 and spending four years with the franchise. Lombardi was first an assistant to the head coach in 2013 before serving as an offensive assistant in 2014, a defensive assistant in 2015, and finally an offensive quality control coach in 2016.
While the role he will take on with the 49ers is unclear, it is a good landing spot for Lombardi to continue to learn and develop under one of the best football minds there is. His time with the Raiders didn’t go the way he hoped, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be successful in his future opportunities.
Davante Adams ‘really excited’ about Raiders hiring of Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator
The man the Raiders hired to take over as offensive coordinator for next season is Luke Getsy who held the same position with the Chicago Bears the past two years. And one person who is looking forward to what Getsy will bring is Raiders star wide receiver Davante Adams.
Adams is familiar with Getsy as the two spent time together with the Green Bay Packers and Adams said he is ‘really excited’ about the hiring, noting that he knows how Getsy’s mind works and has had success with him in the past.