Dimitroff, Smith focus on making Falcons better

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith are done with “The Process.”

Those were buzz words the two used all season long as the team was being rebuilt and came together to win 11 games and end the franchise’s four-year playoff drought.

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Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff on the team’s offseason priorities: “It’s going to be a busy time, mainly on the defensive side of the ball because they are up. There are going to be some well thought-out decisions there. They won’t be emotionally driven.”

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Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

Falcons head coach Mike Smith on switching from coaching to evaluating players: “There is no offseason in the NFL. We are just changing hats a little bit in terms of the coaching staff.”

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With the process complete, it’s time for some new words.

“Thomas and I talked many weeks about getting a new word … and we’re going to break it out today,” Smith said. “It’s the course of action. I got the list from the thesaurus and that was probably the best one.”

The course of action definitely won’t include procrastination.

Dimitroff and Smith are already working with the coaching staff to evaluate the roster. They’ll also have an extensive medical review later in the week.

Once the roster evaluation is done, they will turn their attention to free agents. Meanwhile, draft evaluations are already under way.

“Coaching starts with players,” Smith said. “You’ve got to have players to be successful in the National Football League.

“That is how we are progressing right now. There is no offseason in the NFL. We are just changing hats a little bit in terms of the coaching staff.”

Dimitroff and Smith used free agency and the draft last season to retool the roster. They released some key veterans and cleared out salary cap space after their roster analysis last season.

A similar scenario could unfold this season with several longtime veterans and key players being let go or not re-signed. Safety Lawyer Milloy, linebacker Keith Brooking, defensive tackle Grady Jackson and linebacker Michael Boley could all be jettisoned.

“There are a number of free agents,” Dimitroff said. “It’s going to be a busy time, mainly on the defensive side of the ball because they are up. There are going to be some well thought-out decisions there. They won’t be emotionally driven.”

Brooking may be the toughest. He’s played locally in high school and college and is a fan favorite.

“We made some tough decisions last year with [Alge] Crumpler and Warrick Dunn,” Dimitroff said. “Those were some tough decisions. But we came to the table without having a relationship with them in the past.

“Going forward this year, we have some very good individuals and good football players that we have some emotional ties to and emotionally tough decisions to make. In my mind we need to really separate the emotion and really look at the body of work.”

The Falcons struck gold in the draft last year, adding several key players including quarterback Matt Ryan, tackle Sam Baker, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, defensive back Chevis Jackson and defensive end Kroy Biermann.

“Right now, we finished our first set of draft meetings back in December,” Dimitroff said. “That gives us a little bit of a blueprint going forward. We still have a lot of work to do.”

The Falcons’ draft work will ramp up with the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., later this month.

After addressing their own free agents, the Falcons will look to possibly add some players. Last season, running back Michael Turner and safety Erik Coleman were major free agent picks ups.

“There seems to be a nice group out there in free agency and there is a strong draft class this year,” Dimitroff said. “We think we’ll have ample opportunity to continue to get better on this team.”