Ex-Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff headed to the Saints as consultant
FLOWERY BRANCH — Former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who helped build some of the better teams in franchise history, was hired as a consultant by the New Orleans Saints, he confirmed in a text to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.
Albert Breer of SI.com originally reported the hiring.
Dimitroff has been with the Saints — the Falcons’ main rival — throughout training camp and the exhibition season.
After firing Dimitroff, the Falcons hired Saints executive Terry Fontenot following the 2020 season.
While with the Falcons, Dimitroff — who was hired in 2008 — turned them into a perennial playoff team after he won a tug-of-war to draft quarterback Matt Ryan over defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. If the Falcons had taken Dorsey, they would have traded back into the first round to quarterback Chad Henne.
It turned out to be a better move to go with Ryan.
Dimitroff’s fingerprints were on the 2016 Super Bowl team, too. The current Falcons offensive line, a strength of the team, still has two of Dimitroff’s draft picks, with Jake Matthews and Chris Lindstrom. A third, right tackle Kaleb McGary, was placed on injured reserve.
Dimitroff was working with a sports analytics firm but wanted to get back into the NFL. He had interviews with the Jets and Titans during the last hiring cycle.
Former general managers have a hard time being rehired — even those like Dimitroff, who had sustained success and was a two-time NFL executive of the year. For instance, former Giants general manager Jerry Reese, who has two Super Bowl rings, has not been recycled. Reese was with the Giants for 24 years and was GM from 2007-17.
In New Orleans, Dimitroff will assist longtime general manager Mickey Loomis with all facets of the operation.
In an exclusive with the AJC, former wide receiver Julio Jones credited Dimitroff for making the mega-trade to draft him in 2011. Dimitroff traded six picks to Cleveland to move up 21 spots to land Jones.
“Thomas Dimitroff, what he did for me, believing in me, trusting in me, to trade up 21 picks to see the value in me,” Jones said. “For me, coming from college, people didn’t really understand what type of receiver that I was or that I would become because at Alabama, I had, I guess, I had moments.
“For them to see what type of person I was and what type of player I would be in the sense of a team-first guy, a guy that will go out and give his all in the running game, and then just try to be the best teammate. I think that shows a lot of what TD and the guys seen in me at that time.”
The Falcons began play in 1966 and the Saints in ’67. They’ve been rivals since.
In addition to Fontenot, the Falcons hired former Saints executive Ryan Pace in 2022, after a stint as the Bears general manager from 2015-21.
The two franchises have signed each other’s former players, such as Bobby Hebert, Joe Horn and Morten Andersen. But the executives crossing each other’s lines is a next-generation move.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
