For at least the last few decades college coaches have believed that the single most important hire they make is their strength coach.
While that hire will forever be very important for a variety of reasons, the rapidly changing landscape of college football suggests that it's only a matter of time before the most important hire a head coach makes in modern college football is the GM role.
For Bill Belichick, who was formally announced as the new head coach at North Carolina today, his first big hire was to fill that GM role, and he did so with an NFL front office veteran.
The new Tar Heels GM is set to be former Cleveland Browns GM and vice president Michael Lombardi.
Lombardi, a noted author with titles that include Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Winning Championships and Building Dynasties in the NFL, headed the Browns franchise for on season, in 2013, and has been a close confidant of Belichick for years.
From 2014-16 he served as an assistant to the coaching staff in New England for Belichick.
Previous stops for Lombardi include various roles with the Niners, Eagles, Raiders, and Broncos in addition to his time with the Browns and Patriots.
Lombardi has carved out a niche as a broadcaster since leaving the NFL, working for ESPN, CBS Sports, Showtime, NFL Network and Fox Sports.
Most recently, Lombardi loaned his perspective to The Lombardi Line for Vegas Stats & Information (VSiN).
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.