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As is so often the case, it takes one legend to bring another legend to life. ESPN is reporting today that Academy Award-winning actor and all-around goomba Robert De Niro has been attached to the ESPN films project Lombardi, in which he will play legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The project is currently in the hands of screenwriter Eric Roth, who is responsible for the likes of Forrest Gump and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and it will tell the story of Lombardi during his early years with the Packers, in which he took them from being one of the worst teams in the National Football League to being five-time champions.

Explains ESPN’s Page 2: “The story’s narrative arc spans from 1959 when Lombardi was given his first opportunity to be an NFL head coach, taking over the small-town Packers, then the worst team in the NFL, and runs through his transformation of a group of young, talented but undisciplined losers into five-time NFL champions. Also, the story highlights the long-standing rivalry that existed between Lombardi and legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, both of whom were assistants on the New York Giants team that lost the 1958 NFL Championship game.”

It’s difficult to make an early assessment on such casting news. De Niro is certainly a great actor. There’s no denying that. He is also an actor who comes with a bit of baggage — he is, in fact, Robert De Niro. So it is hard to see where he will be able to disappear into the role of Lombardi. However, I can’t for the life of me think of anyone better for the role. Then again, I’ve never really thought of who I would like to see play Vince Lombardi.