AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2008 > January > 04 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMathis eager to be Falcons’ next GM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Long before the Falcons culminated one of the worst seasons on and off the field for a professional franchise, Terance Mathis wanted to become the team’s general manager. He was obsessed with the job, and nothing has changed.
It’s a challenging job, even for those involved with franchises used to prospering instead of reeling. And, no, Mathis hasn’t any experience at that job, and, yes, his most striking qualification for the job is that he excelled as an NFL wide receiver for most of his 13 seasons.
Still, the Redan High School standout who was a significant player and leader on the Falcons’ only Super Bowl team had an interesting thought on Friday. “If Barack Obama can win Iowa, why can’t I be the general manager of the Falcons?” said Mathis, 40, which makes you sort of wonder why not, indeed?
Let’s start with this: Mathis is excited about the job, which puts him in a group that nearly could squeeze inside a Gatorade bucket. The franchise quarterback is in prison on dogfighting charges. The rest of the roster is a mess. There is no head coach, because the previous one preferred to leave with three games left in his first season and call hogs at Arkansas. The owner is omnipresent, and the Georgia Dome is becoming omni-empty.
So Bill Cowher turned down the Falcons, and then Bill Parcells said yes or something before taking over as guru of the Miami Dolphins. Now the Falcons’ search committee of owner Arthur Blank, whatever you want to call Rich McKay and consultant Ernie Accorsi is interviewing candidates for the general manager and coaching jobs from around the nation.
Mathis said that search committee needn’t go farther than driving distance of Flowery Branch. “With me as your GM, you’re hiring a DeKalb County product, who had eight strong seasons with the Falcons, and who still lives here and is active in the community,” said Mathis, who boldly told Blank in early 2002, soon after he purchased the franchise during Mathis’ last months as a Falcons player: “I’m going to be your next general manager of this team.”
The incoming general manager back then was McKay, who has recently been demoted by Blank to work mostly on stadium projects, and Mathis said he is ready to fulfill his self-proclaimed prophecy. He spent the summer as a coaching and scouting intern with the Baltimore Ravens under respected general manager Ozzie Newsome. He spent the season analyzing the Falcons’ issues at length. He spent the time afterward developing something called “The Gameplan,” which he hopes to show Blank during an interview that he has requested but has yet to receive.
What’s first in “The Gameplan?”
“I would sit down with everybody in the personnel department, both pro and college, and I would ask them about their philosophy in regard to going out and acquiring players,” Mathis said. “Then I would see if their philosophy fits my philosophy, which is getting the best player for the positions that we need.”
Then what? Mathis said, “I would meet with the team to tell them the direction that we’re going and what we’re thinking. At that time, if there wasn’t a head coach, I would tell them that I was going to find a guy that I knew who would be loyal and dedicated to the organization for the long term.
“I want a young, upstart guy who could relate to today’s players and who could motivate and put together a staff that can communicate with these guys.”
What else? “One of my first initiatives would be to go to different community events, just to assure folks where we’re going as an organization and how we’re trying to build our reputation,” Mathis said. “Actually, I’d be out trying to sell season tickets to get the fans back. That would include getting players to do public-service announcements and not just personal endorsements. Your ticket holders want to know that you care about them.”
They mostly want you to win, which also is in “The Gameplan.” Mathis said, “The next two to three years, we want to win the division, go deep in the playoffs and eventually win the Super Bowl.”
The tough part for the Falcons is doing all of those things. The tough part for Mathis is getting an interview with Blank, then getting the job, and then getting all of those things done.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Terence Moore
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By Dawgs2007
January 4, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this
Yes, that would work out well. Redan is the biggest THUG school in Dekalb county, so he would be able to relate with the players. Every player would be carefully selected to make sure that they have street cred.
The dome would fill up with the lure of top rap acts at halftime and 1/2 off malt liquor. Man, where do I sign up?!
By Eddie
January 4, 2008 7:56 PM | Link to this
Okay. That was pointless.
By Willy
January 4, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
Puke
By GW
January 4, 2008 8:03 PM | Link to this
Mathis sounds like a guy trying to sell himself for a bigtime high school job. Raising the Falcons from the dead will be tougher than winning Iowa.
By ATL
January 4, 2008 8:06 PM | Link to this
Dawgs2007…F*** YOU!! Just come out and say BLACK you racist inbred.
By EataPeach
January 4, 2008 8:09 PM | Link to this
Terrance, why waste time with junk like this?? Now I guess you will blow a gasket if Arthur doesnt give this guy an interview. I thought the post from a guy on the Falcon’s message board suggesting we hire Deon Sanders as Head Coach was stupid.
By Willy
January 4, 2008 8:13 PM | Link to this
Terrance, will you do a piece tomorrow on my quest to be Falcons GM. Actually, just get me one of those jobs at AJC and I’ll sell myself from there. Apparently neither job has any prerequisite qualifications.
By Todd
January 4, 2008 8:13 PM | Link to this
A question was asked not too long ago; ‘is the country ready for a black president?”… After ‘W’s’ mess, absolutely. Anyone can do better than him.
Mathis, regardless of where he came from, probably care more about the falcons since he played for and also is from the area. What can be worse than hte present management?
By Dan
January 4, 2008 8:15 PM | Link to this
If Mathis was white this column wouldn’t be written. Moore is race baiting hack.
By Jim
January 4, 2008 8:16 PM | Link to this
Well…..reading that wasted about four minutes of my life that I can’t get back.
And you still think the Braves are going to trade for Griffey as their center fielder too, eh Terence?
What an idiot.
By Dawgbyte
January 4, 2008 8:16 PM | Link to this
Terance Mathis was a good player and, persumably, a good man. But, he has the same qualifications to be Falcon’s GM as say, Steve Bartkowski. Would Terance Moore waste a column on Steve Batkowski wanting to be GM? No! Why? I’ll leave that to your imagination.
By Atl honkey
January 4, 2008 8:22 PM | Link to this
It’s clear that Dawgs2007 is a moron. Mathis is a good guy who would be a good hire as an understudy or scout. The falcons would do well to hire local talent both on the field and in the front office. I don’t know why more pro teams don’t take that approach as it would be an instant marketing success. UGA has 27 pro defensive players. How many were passed up by the Falcons. Mathis represents what is good about Falcons history, and that’s hard to come by.
By Singletary
January 4, 2008 8:22 PM | Link to this
Oh come on, eight years as a Falcon gets him an interview, if for no other reason than it’s a PR fiasco not to. I’d rather see Arthur Blank throw the net VERY wide, rather than have sham interviews toward a Petrino hire!
Didn’t Curtis Martin of the Jets get a meeting to say the same thing? If I’m right, then TM absolutely should be allowed an interview.
Finally, can we PLEASE not assign THUG categorically to whole schools. My kids went to a language immersion public school where whites were a plurality, so I’ve seen and heard their amazing school slandered and tagged as losers … and it isn’t true. I’ll skip over endless diatribes about this or that thug but EVERY school has its stars, its academicians, its jocks, and its burnouts.
By Mr. G
January 4, 2008 9:02 PM | Link to this
Why does everything has to be about race? This is the second post by an AJC writer that turns to a race issue. If you are focussing on race, then you are clearly missing what this column truly means. Terrance Mathis was brave enough to say he would take the job as a GM where it seems as if there anyone who really wants to come to Atlanta. The situation in Atlanta is an utter mess. People tend to forget that the columns can be read anywhere by anyone who is willing to go through the sign-up process. What that means that the bonehead comments can be read by anyone like a potential coach or gm. Terrance Mathis is someone who wants to make the Falcons better. You don’t see Mike Kenn doing it, nor Steve Bartkowski, nor Jamal Anderson trying to help this team. He doesn’t even have to be a GM. Give him an assitant role to where we can if his ideas work. That is what Terrance Moore was getting at. If you are going to look at potential GM’s, give retired Falcons who show they give hoot about improving the organization an interview also. I doubt it would happen since Blank doesn’t have a vision of what kind of GM he wants. I doubt he has a vision of what kind of Head Coach he wants. Once he has laid a vision of what he wants, he can start digging the ditch(GM) for the foundation(Coach) for the house(players needed to fix this mess the Falcons are in) he is trying to build.
By JimD
January 4, 2008 9:03 PM | Link to this
“Getting the best player for the postitions that we need.” WOW, the man is a genius. With leadership like that the rest of the league will shudder with fear, forfeit every game, and hand the Lombardi trophy over to Mr. Blank without even a contest.
By Bird
January 4, 2008 9:07 PM | Link to this
Shoot, I want to be the General Manager. I’ve run a $25 million dollar business. I’ve been a Falcons follower since Van Brocklin. I was at the Falcons-Eagles wildcard game (cold rain, soaked Eagles cheerleaders in sheer blouses). I watched Danny White kill the Falcons. I knew William Andrews and Lynn Cain. Did some work for Deion. Terrence, I make more sense than Mathis. But I’m don’t have enough melanin to get your endorsement.
By Answer to Dawgs2007
January 4, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this
What an idiot you are “Dawg”. The Redan High School the Mathis finished had a totally different make up from today’s version….so Who is the THUG now a**)!@.
Di you also know that Mr. Mathis was once a sponsor of a NASCAR Team…..don’t get no mo thug dan dat huh???
Crawl back under the rock or into the woods!!!!!!
Save your comments for your mtgs with Nathan’s boys….u know very well what I’m talkin about.
By OpinionsAreLike
January 4, 2008 9:09 PM | Link to this
Please hire Bob for GM. He always polishes his shoes, combs his hair and owns his a pencil and notebook. His sister Charlene was once a cheerleader, his uncle Clyde is a bail bondsman.
By peanutgallerian
January 4, 2008 9:30 PM | Link to this
i don’t buy that blank owes him an interview for the GM slot. but i do buy the idea that he should consider bringing him into the organization at some level- let him learn the business from the front office and work his way up. if he doesn’t have the patience for that, well forget about him. but if he does, getting a long-time falcon with local roots and a passioni for the team and town is not a bad thing- not a bad thing at all. i understand those who feel the whole purpose of the column was that mathis is interested and he is a black man - but i also believe that if 80-90% of the players are black, then the front office is going to need competent blacks too. that is just common sense. me- i would just like to see this organization rise from the three stooges level. i don’t care who does it.
By misawaagent
January 4, 2008 9:38 PM | Link to this
Most of you Atlanta frog heads make me sick. All you guys do is talk about race. Join the rest of the world and intelligently discuss and debate….you frog heads (not everybody) deserve the crap you get from the Falcons but I’m not surprised. Before they get a GM, a coach, and a team, they should look for some real fans first!!
By falconsince84
January 4, 2008 9:59 PM | Link to this
thanks misawaagent for clearly stating the obvious..Give me real falcon fans that can debate anyday over making racist alligations on every topic..thanks well put
By GM
January 4, 2008 10:29 PM | Link to this
HEY!!! I wanna be GM too!!!
By hugs not drugs
January 4, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this
Is this article a joke??? Mathis has NO business being a GM of anything. Did anyone else not notice the way Mathis handled himself at the embarassing Town Meeting that ESPN aired?? Embarassing is all I have to say.
I wonder if Jeff Van Note wanted to be the GM, if Terrance Moore would write an article about it….um, the answer is obvioulsy NO. If Moore was in any other town, he wouldve been ran off by now. A complete joke
By Dominic Hughes
January 4, 2008 10:58 PM | Link to this
Anyone who thinks there will not be a decent field of qualified candidates to choose from as the next Falcons GM is kidding themselves. This is the NFL. There are only 32 GM jobs and the Falcons gig would be one of the better paid. There will be no shortage of interested parties, regardless of the poor state the team is currently in. Mathis is not likely to make the longest of long lists for the job. He simply is not qualified. The Obama comparison is ridiculous. Any President has a vast staff, numbering in the thousands, to assist and advise him in every decision. The Falcons job does not.
By long time falcon
January 4, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this
If Mathis truly wanted the job of GM he should have been working diligently in a personnel department since his retirement more than five years ago. Sorry but I don’t think many general managers are hired in the NFL after a 90 day internship. LOL! The guy he interned for, ozzie newsome, was very dedicated and worked hard to rise thru the ranks to become a GM. Mathis prophecy to Blank that he would one day be hired to run the falcons might have come true if he had rolled up his sleeves and went to work somewhere. Instead I guess his plan was sit around on his A$$ and daydream, then when he thought the moment was right get terrence moore to write an article promoting him for the job. I’m shocked that his request to the falcons to be interviewed hasn’t been granted.
And the quote of the day go’s to none other than terrence mathis: “Then I would see if their philosophy fits my philosophy, which is getting the best player for the positions that we need.” Wow what an incredibly ground breaking philosophy! LOL!
By neck ville redneck
January 4, 2008 11:22 PM | Link to this
why not Deon Sander? Pro football owners love black player , They make up 75% of the NFL players but when it comes to head coaching and Gm jobs they run like the house is on fire.(NFL owners) 80% of black pro coaches win . All they need is a chance.
All we get is rehashed white coaches and GM’s. There are 32 team in the NFL all love black player but not black coaches and Gm’s. Why is this? one they don’t believe in black men in that kind of leadership roll. The NFL Started in the 30’s There has been less than ten Head coaches and only two gm’s that I know of. over 70 years and just look at the numbers.
You tell me what wrong with this picture. To the Good Ole boy’s it’s a joke for a black man or a man of color to be a coach, Gm, and QB.
we want the same thing you guy want! Just read this blog page and you will see what I mean!
By Hawk Fan
January 4, 2008 11:29 PM | Link to this
This has got to be the most assinine column i have ever read. Mr Moore I believe before you got this job at the AJC you were a trash truck driver. Terrance Mathis is about as qualified to be a GM as Rich Mckay is to be a wide receiver. This guy has been retired for at least 5 years why hasnt he been working in somebodies front office or as a scout. I think hes jealous of all these young white GM’s and coaches who put the time in and are now getting rewarded. This is just as ridiculous as scottie pippen wanting to coach the bulls. These guys dont know when to say goodbye to the spotlight. You dont see Barry Sanders asking to be the GM of the Detroit Lions, although that might be the best move they could make, seeing as Matt Millen doesnt have a clue.