Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi Brings Superbowl Pedigree

May 31, 2012; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi during organized team activities at the team

The Detroit Lions have brought home Lombardi.  No not the Lombardi trophy but someone related to it.

The Detroit Lions have hired the grandson of the great Vince Lombardi, namesake of the Superbowl trophy, to run the offense.

Joe Lombardi brings much more than a Superbowl name to the table.  He was there when the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl in 2009.

Superbowl Championship aside, Lombardi has racked up a ton of playoff experience while working with the Saints.  Since 2007 Lombardi has been involved in 12 playoff games. That is more playoff experience than most of the Lions head coaching candidates.

Track Record Of Success

Lombardi served as the Saints quarterbacks coach since 2007 where he has been credited with grooming Drew Brees into the Superbowl caliber quarterback he is today.

In fact, Drew Brees has passed for over 5,000 yards 4 times under Lombardi’s tutelage. Brees has also led the league in passing touchdowns 4 times in that span.

Some of Drew Brees’ success can be traced back to offense scheme and game planning but Joe Lombardi has been there for all of that success.  The theory is that experience will allow Lombardi to implement an offensive strategy that will set Matthew Stafford up for success.

Many believe Joe Lombardi was a strong hire for the Detroit Lions based on his track record of success.  Those beliefs are validated by the comments of the Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis on Tuesday at the Senior Bowl.

"Joe’s a great coach, he’s done a great job with us for a long period of time. We’re gonna miss him,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said during Tuesday morning’s practice at the Senior Bowl — just before the word became official. “Whoever hires him is gonna get a great coach and someone who will do a real great job with their offense.”"

Payton Coaching Tree

When you think of NFL coaching legacies Sean Payton’s name doesn’t immediately come to mind, although it should.

Lombardi isn’t the only one of the Saints coaches under Sean Payton that has moved up the coaching ladder in recent years. Former defensive backs coach Dennis Allen is now head coach of the Raiders. Offensive coordinator Doug Marrone is now head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Former receivers coach Curtis Johnson is the head coach at Tulane and O-Line coach Aaron Kromer is the OC in Chicago.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis thinks a growing Sean Payton coaching tree is a positive thing for the organization.

"Yes, because it means two things: It means longevity for your program, and it means that you’re hiring the right guys and you’ve been successful,” Loomis said. “It’s a natural course of business when you’ve been successful with a head coach the caliber of Sean Payton. You know, obviously teams want a piece of that. So we’ve had a number of guys move on and do well. And that’s gonna continue to happen."

The Detroit Lions are betting the Jim Caldwell and Joe Lombardi can bring the same kind of stability and success the New Orleans Saints have enjoyed over the last 8 seasons. Lets hope they are right.

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