Tony Lombardi
Encyclopedia
Tony E. Lombardi is an American football
player and coach in the United States.
in his hometown of Park Forest, Illinois
, a southern suburb of Chicago
, graduating in 1980. While in high school, he played tailback on the football team, which was coached by his father, Bob Lombardi.
Lombardi played running back for the Arizona State University
Sun Devils
from 1980 through 1983, and was awarded a varsity letter for all four years of play.
Lombardi went undrafted in the 1984 NFL Draft
and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears
. However, he did not make the team's roster.
in Park Forest, Illinois
, Lombardi served as defensive backs coach for the Wisconsin Badgers
while earning a Master's Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1989 through 1996 he was the defensive coordinator for the NCAA Division II Mankato State Mavericks (now Minnesota State University).
In 1997, then-head coach Rick Rasnick
hired him as the linebacker
s coach for the Eastern Michigan Eagles
, and in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, he served as the team's defensive coordinator.
coach for the Eastern Michigan
Eagles
located in Ypsilanti, Michigan
, and he held that position for one game during the 1999 season. His coaching record at Eastern Michigan was 0 wins and 1 loss. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #37 at Eastern Michigan in total wins and #38 at the school in winning percentage .
The first ten games of the 1999 season were coached by Rick Rasnick
, with Lombardi serving as defensive coordinator. EMU athletic director Dave Diles fired Rasnick on November 16, 1999, and named Lombardi as the interim head coach, to serve for the final game of the season. Under Rasnick, the 1999 team had compiled a record of 4 wins and 6 losses. Lombardi's one game as EMU's head coach was a 24-30 loss to the Northern Illinois
on November 20, 1999 that was played in DeKalb, Illinois
. With the loss on the last game of the year under Lombardi, the team concluded its season with a record of 4–7. Lombardi is the only EMU head football coach to serve for just a single game, and as a result, his five days served is the shortest tenure of any head coach in the history of EMU football.
Jeff Woodruff hired Lombardi to coach the Running Backs and coordinate the Special Teams for the 2001 season. Following the 2001 season Lombardi departed for the upstart professional football league the XFL.
of the XFL
. When the XFL folded after one year, Lombardi decided to stay close to home coaching high school football in order to spend more time with his four-year-old son Rocky, saying, "Football has been so great, providing me with everything I've had in life. There's no way I was going to let Rocky grow up hating football because his dad is always gone." In 2002, Lombardi became the head coach at Homewood-Flossmoor High School
in Homewood, Illinois
, where his father had been coach in the late 1960s, and he quickly revitalized the struggling team. However, after just one season, Lombardi left Homewood-Flossmoor without explanation, taking over at Hinsdale Central High School
in Hinsdale, Illinois
, a western suburb of Chicago.
After three seasons at Hinsdale Central, in which the team posted a 30–7 record, two trips to the Class 8A quarterfinals and one trip to the semifinals, Lombardi was fired in March 2006. His lawsuit against the school district for breach of contract was settled for $10,000, and within a month he was hired by Washington High School
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
.
During his tenure at Cedar Rapids Washington, Lombardi has led the Warriors to four playoff berths, including two trips to the state quarterfinals and one trip to the Semi-Finals. The Warriors have won two conference championships and he has been named MVC coach of the year twice, in 2007 and 2008. He was invited to guest coach at the Under Armour All-American game in 2009. In addition to serving as the Head Football Coach, Lombardi also assists with track and baseball.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach in the United States.
Playing career
Lombardi attended Rich East High SchoolRich East High School
Rich East High School or REHS, is a public four-year high school located in Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The Rich East Campus serves the cities of Park Forest, Matteson,Olympia Fields,Chicago Heights, & Richton Park...
in his hometown of Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
, a southern suburb of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, graduating in 1980. While in high school, he played tailback on the football team, which was coached by his father, Bob Lombardi.
Lombardi played running back for the Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
Sun Devils
Arizona State Sun Devils football
The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....
from 1980 through 1983, and was awarded a varsity letter for all four years of play.
Lombardi went undrafted in the 1984 NFL Draft
1984 NFL Draft
The 1984 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 1-2, 1984. No teams elected to claim any players in the regular supplemental draft that...
and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. However, he did not make the team's roster.
Assistant coaching
After spending the 1985 season as defensive coordinator for his alma mater, Rich East High SchoolRich East High School
Rich East High School or REHS, is a public four-year high school located in Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The Rich East Campus serves the cities of Park Forest, Matteson,Olympia Fields,Chicago Heights, & Richton Park...
in Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
, Lombardi served as defensive backs coach for the Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
while earning a Master's Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1989 through 1996 he was the defensive coordinator for the NCAA Division II Mankato State Mavericks (now Minnesota State University).
In 1997, then-head coach Rick Rasnick
Rick Rasnick
Rick Rasnick , sometimes called Rich Rasnick, is an American football coach. he was the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1995 to 1999...
hired him as the linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
s coach for the Eastern Michigan Eagles
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...
, and in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, he served as the team's defensive coordinator.
Eastern Michigan
Lombardi was the head college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
coach for the Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
Eagles
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...
located in Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...
, and he held that position for one game during the 1999 season. His coaching record at Eastern Michigan was 0 wins and 1 loss. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #37 at Eastern Michigan in total wins and #38 at the school in winning percentage .
The first ten games of the 1999 season were coached by Rick Rasnick
Rick Rasnick
Rick Rasnick , sometimes called Rich Rasnick, is an American football coach. he was the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1995 to 1999...
, with Lombardi serving as defensive coordinator. EMU athletic director Dave Diles fired Rasnick on November 16, 1999, and named Lombardi as the interim head coach, to serve for the final game of the season. Under Rasnick, the 1999 team had compiled a record of 4 wins and 6 losses. Lombardi's one game as EMU's head coach was a 24-30 loss to the Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois Huskies football
The Northern Illinois Huskies football team represents Northern Illinois University in the Mid-American Conference of the NCAA's Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision.-History:...
on November 20, 1999 that was played in DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....
. With the loss on the last game of the year under Lombardi, the team concluded its season with a record of 4–7. Lombardi is the only EMU head football coach to serve for just a single game, and as a result, his five days served is the shortest tenure of any head coach in the history of EMU football.
Jeff Woodruff hired Lombardi to coach the Running Backs and coordinate the Special Teams for the 2001 season. Following the 2001 season Lombardi departed for the upstart professional football league the XFL.
High school
At the end of Eastern Michigan's 1999 season, none of Rasnick's assistant coaches were retained. In 2001, Lombardi was the defensive coordinator for the short-lived Chicago EnforcersChicago Enforcers
The Chicago Enforcers were a short-lived American football team based in Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States...
of the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
. When the XFL folded after one year, Lombardi decided to stay close to home coaching high school football in order to spend more time with his four-year-old son Rocky, saying, "Football has been so great, providing me with everything I've had in life. There's no way I was going to let Rocky grow up hating football because his dad is always gone." In 2002, Lombardi became the head coach at Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School is a public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. The majority of HF students live in Flossmoor and nearby Homewood, but the school also serves areas of Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, and Hazel Crest serving school...
in Homewood, Illinois
Homewood, Illinois
Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,543 at the 2000 census. Homewood is a sister city to Homewood, Alabama.- Geography :...
, where his father had been coach in the late 1960s, and he quickly revitalized the struggling team. However, after just one season, Lombardi left Homewood-Flossmoor without explanation, taking over at Hinsdale Central High School
Hinsdale Central High School
Hinsdale Central High School, or HCHS is a public four-year high school located at the corner of W. 55th St. and S. Grant St. in Hinsdale, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded in 1879, the school is well known for its large spending per student, academic...
in Hinsdale, Illinois
Hinsdale, Illinois
Hinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...
, a western suburb of Chicago.
After three seasons at Hinsdale Central, in which the team posted a 30–7 record, two trips to the Class 8A quarterfinals and one trip to the semifinals, Lombardi was fired in March 2006. His lawsuit against the school district for breach of contract was settled for $10,000, and within a month he was hired by Washington High School
Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Washington High School is a public high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa-The First Washington High School:Construction began on the first Washington in 1855 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Fifth Street S.E. It was a three-story brick building with a white belfry, and it was the largest public school...
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
.
During his tenure at Cedar Rapids Washington, Lombardi has led the Warriors to four playoff berths, including two trips to the state quarterfinals and one trip to the Semi-Finals. The Warriors have won two conference championships and he has been named MVC coach of the year twice, in 2007 and 2008. He was invited to guest coach at the Under Armour All-American game in 2009. In addition to serving as the Head Football Coach, Lombardi also assists with track and baseball.