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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > December > 09
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Blank enjoying a great ‘08
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Courtesy of that pit bull thing leading No. 7 to prison and overmatched coach Bobby Petrino bolting in the middle of the night to call Hogs in Arkansas, no NFL owner had a worse 2007 than Arthur Blank.
Now look: Courtesy of astute hires everywhere and a rookie quarterback with veteran tendencies, no NFL owner is having a better 2008 than Blank.
Here are four reasons why Blank is flourishing during his eighth season as Falcons owner.
The general manager
Logic says you don’t hire somebody to run your hemorrhaging football operations via webcam. Well, so much for logic. Blank hired Thomas Dimitroff, a scouting executive with the New England Patriots and a neophyte to an NFL GM job.
Dimitroff changed nearly half of the roster (22 players) that won just four games last year, and he joined Blank in hiring Mike Smith as head coach.
The result? Splendid. Despite Sunday’s loss at New Orleans, the retooled Falcons are deep in the playoff hunt at 8-5.
“When I spent time with him in that first video conference, I was struck by how creative he is,” Blank said. “He is a very clear thinker. He’s an extremely good listener. He pays a lot of attention to what people are saying, but he is not afraid to make up his own mind, and he is very decisive when he makes up his own mind.”
The head coach
Blank hired the wrong person in Jim Mora, the eternal players’ pal, and he blew it with Petrino, a college guy who, as Blank said he was told by Falcons players during last season, “His preference is to watch tape versus talk.”
This time, Blank let his football people deal with the X’s and O’s in the search for a new head coach. Then Blank went back to his successful days as the co-founder of Home Depot for the other stuff.
“There always was an emphasis (at Home Depot) on character, integrity and trust — people who understood the value of those things and who would work within the organization,” said Blank, with all of those things leading to Smith, a solid football coach with toughness behind his always quick smile.
The quarterback
More than a few eyes rolled around the NFL when Blank paid Matt Ryan $72 million after the Falcons made the former Boston College star the third pick of the 2008 draft.
“When you’re giving out that type of money, you want to make sure you’re making the right decision,” said Blank, chuckling, recalling how he allowed his football people do their thing again before he returned to his Home Depot playbook on the other stuff. “Is this a young man who not only is going to perform well on the field — in the opinion of the experts — but is he going to carry himself well? Does he have leadership qualities. … My conclusion was that there was no question that he was going to be able to do it.”
All you need to know is that Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre have won Super Bowls, but they have lower passer ratings than Ryan’s 92.0.
The culture
Even before last year’s chaos (Michael Vick, Petrino, losing), the Falcons had become a needlessly edgy franchise after Blank fired Dan Reeves following the 2003 season. At one point, the PR staff even hovered over the shoulders of reporters during player interviews.
Now professionalism is back for the Falcons, along with victories.
“I think it’s the new coaching staff, and just the climate around the facility has been completely different than before,” second-year offensive guard Justin Blalock said recently. Added Blank, “(Smitty) has recruited a fine coaching staff. He doesn’t get as much credit for that, and they don’t get as much credit for the success we’ve had this year, but they should.”
So should the owner.
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