| Tony Lombardi | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Football |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 29, 1962 |
| Place of birth | Park Forest, Illinois |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1983 | Arizona State |
| Position(s) | Running Back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1986–1989 1989–1996 1997 1998–1999 1999 |
Wisconsin (defensive backs) Mankato State (DC) Eastern Michigan (linebackers) Eastern Michigan (DC) Eastern Michigan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 0–1 (.000) |
| Statistics | |
| College Football Data Warehouse | |
Tony E. Lombardi (born January 29, 1962) is an American football player and coach in the United States.
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Lombardi attended Rich East High School in his hometown of Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, graduating in 1980.[1] While in high school, he played tailback on the football team, which was coached by his father, Bob Lombardi.[2]
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.[1] Lombardi went undrafted in the 1984 NFL Draft and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears.[3] However, he did not make the team's roster.[4]
After spending the 1985 season as defensive coordinator for his alma mater, Rich East High School 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).[1]
In 1997, then-head coach Rick Rasnick hired him as the linebackers coach for the Eastern Michigan Eagles, and in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, he served as the team's defensive coordinator.[1]
Lombardi was the head college football coach for the Eastern Michigan Eagles located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and he held that position for one game during the 1999 season.[5] His coaching record at Eastern Michigan was 0 wins and 1 loss.[6] 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 (.000).[7]
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.[1] Under Rasnick, the 1999 team had compiled a record of 4 wins and 6 losses.[8] 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.[9] 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.[5] 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.
At the end of Eastern Michigan's 1999 season, none of Rasnick's assistant coaches were retained.[10] In 2001, Lombardi was the defensive coordinator for the short-lived Chicago Enforcers of the XFL.[2] 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,[11] where his father had been coach in the late 1960s, and he quickly revitalized the struggling team.[2] 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.[12]
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.[13][14] 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.
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