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Friday, November 14, 2008
Dimitroff making all the right calls
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First thing you notice about Thomas Dimitroff is the name. (Has a football ring to it.)
Next thing is his physique. About five-feet-ten, I’d say, and not a pound over 165 (give or take an ounce). Maybe a cornerback in Division III, but no NFL dossier there.
You call him “Thomas,” not Tom. Tom was his dad’s name, a quarterback of some girth in the Canadian league, and for a few snaps with the Boston Patriots.
His hair has a mind of its own, dark and thick, and the face beneath looks young enough to be rushed by a campus fraternity. His dress is casual, relaxed, and if you were looking for a partner at tennis, he has the frame for it.
Truth is, Thomas Dimitroff is the man who runs the Falcons. He is the man who hired Mike Smith, the coach. He is the man who drafted Matt Ryan to play quarterback. These are all the duties of the general manager, which has been Dimitroff’s title since January. And he may have been the first GM ever hired after an interview by web cam.
He is a singular figure in this world of the National Football League. He has worked his way from the basement to the boardroom. He has done the laundry, worked in therapy, been a ball boy, and since he was seven years old, has known what he was shooting for. And this is it, at the age of 42.
His first real job was with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian league. He was scouting coordinator. “I made $16,000 a year and rode a bicycle to work,” he said.
This is not his first tour in Atlanta. For four years in the ’90s he scouted the southern colleges for the Detroit Lions and lived in Virginia-Highland. “Ever since,” he said. “I’ve always said if anything came open for me on this side of the continent, I hoped it would be Atlanta.”
It was during that stretch with the Lions that he found the man whose pattern he has copied since in dealing with people. He had followed Bobby Ross’ style of dealing with the people, a disciplined approach but fair, and his passion for the game.
To tell the truth, Dimitroff came to Atlanta an unknown commodity. He was, it seems, recommended by Ernie Accorsi, once a newspaperman and later general manager of the New York Giants. Arthur Blank had retained Accorsi as a consultant in the staffing search, which led to Dimitroff.
Dimitroff’s first crisis came in the draft. He was squarely in the crosshairs of the public — take Ryan, the quarterback, or Glenn Dorsey, the defensive tackle. He never blinked, and neither has Ryan. The beat goes on. The GM hasn’t changed. He treats everybody the same, no frills, no surprises. At last, the Falcons got it right, and right is Dimitroff.
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