FLOWERY BRANCH — Anthony Robinson, the Falcons’ director of college of scouting, is leaving to became an assistant general manager for the Tennessee Titans.
The move was first reported by Albert Breer of The MMQB and confirmed by Robinson, who interviewed for the Falcons’ general manager position Dec. 18, 2020. He had been with the team for 16 seasons and worked his way up from area scout.
Robinson was the director of college scouting for the past four seasons.
“I’m super excited, me and (Titans general manager) Ran (Carthon) go back to 2008 when we started in Atlanta together,” Robinson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. “We’ve been in contact over the years. We share a lot of the same philosophies. It’s great that we can come together again and work together. I’m excited to support him and (coach) Mike (Vrabel) and that organization.”
Carthon was hired in February.
“Once the draft ended, he put in the request to (Falcons general manager) Terry (Fontenot),” Robinson said. “Did it the right way. Once he put in the request, things started moving. He put in the request as assistant general manager, and from there things took place.”
Since it was a promotion, the Falcons couldn’t block the interview.
Robinson is looking forward to reuniting with Carthon, who was with the Falcons from 2008-11 as a pro scout.
“Yeah, we’re close,” Robinson said. “We’ve stayed in contact over the years. We share a lot of the same philosophies in terms of personnel, building a team and leadership. It’s a perfect match. I’m excited.”
Robinson was with the Falcons for coaches Mike Smith and Dan Quinn and the start of Arthur Smith’s tenure. The Falcons went to the playoffs six times, reached two NFC title games and one Super Bowl during Robinson’s tenure.
“It’s bittersweet,” Robinson said. “It’s hard to leave a place that you’ve been for 16 years and made a lot of close friends and some people that you call family that you made those connections with. It’s an opportunity that you can’t pass up on. They’ve been great and have supported me and have let me know how happy they are for me.”
Robinson will be over the college and pro scouting for the Titans.
“We are hiring another (assistant) general manager, which is Chad Brinker,” Robinson said. “Chad is over salary cap, strategy and analytics, and I’m over more of the football side of it.”
Robinson began his time with the Falcons as a scouting assistant for three seasons before he was elevated to Southeast area scout and then the team’s Eastern regional scout covering half the country in 2016.
Robinson was credited with scouting Julio Jones, Keanu Neal and Calvin Ridley.
Before working with the Falcons, Robinson worked with BLESTO scouting as an assistant intern from (2007-08), with Florida State (2005-07) as an undergraduate assistant coach (wide receivers) and in the Baltimore Ravens’ player-personnel department as an intern in 2006.
Robinson wanted to get into scouting and used to message Ravens executive Eric DeCosta daily until he received a meeting. He was advised to get his degree and get back around coaching. He went to Florida State and earned a sports management degree in 2006. He earned the internship with the Ravens started his scouting journey.
Robinson had stops at three colleges, slept on an air mattress for seven months and sold cars for a living before getting his first full-time scouting job in 2008.
After high school, Robinson turned down a partial scholarship from a small California school and walked on at Morgan State in Baltimore. He played for Stump Mitchell, a former NFL player and a Georgia native, before a life-changing event led him to the workforce.
Robinson worked as a car salesman to help support his baby daughter, who’s now an adult. But he wanted to get back into football in general and scouting in particular.
Robinson’s father had season tickets for Ravens games, and he regularly attended them.
“I kind of reached out to their personnel department,” Robinson said. “I looked at their whole staff, and at the time Eric DeCosta was the director of college scouting. So, I got the office number.”
Robinson would call a couple of times a day, maybe three times a week, until finally, DeCosta called him back after about two weeks.
“He called me back and said, ‘Hello, Anthony, this is Eric,’” Robinson said. “‘I understand you’re interested in scouting. Come on in, sit down and let’s talk.’”
Robinson, who was paid in the six figures to sell cars, treated the meeting as an interview.
DeCosta advised him to finish college, get a job around football and to stay in touch. DeCosta gave him his business card.
Robinson moved back to Tallahassee, Florida, and enrolled in a community college.
“I went to a community college for year and a half,” Robinson said in June 2021. “While I was there, I coached high school football for a year for a high school called Leon High School in Tallahassee. I coached defensive backs for a year, and then that following year I was able to transfer to Florida State.”
He promptly went to the Seminoles football office and talked to Jeff Bowden, who was the offensive coordinator.
“I told him, hey I just want the opportunity to come up there and work with the football team,” Robinson said. “I’ll volunteer, I’ll do whatever I have to do, I just want to get back around it.”
Robinson worked as an undergraduate assistant wide receivers coach for the Seminoles.
“I stayed in contact with Eric throughout my time at Florida State and Leon High, just the whole way,” Robinson said. “When it was time for me to graduate, he offered me an internship with the Ravens in 2006. That was my first real exposure to pro, NFL front office.”
As an intern, Robinson got a chance to see Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome work close-up.
“It’s one thing to hear Ozzie speak, but it’s another thing to actually see him operate and move in his own building and around his people,” Robinson said. “How he treats his own staff. So, I had that opportunity.”
Robinson landed another internship with the BLESTO scouting service working in Jacksonville, Florida. For seven months, he slept on an air mattress in a friend’s one-bedroom apartment during the week. He went home to Tallahassee on the weekends.
Lionel Vital, who had been with the Ravens, recommended Robinson to then-new Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, and he landed his first job with the Falcons as a scouting assistant.
After Fontenot was hired, he retained Robinson.
“He’s been great,” Robinson said. “The first thing I’ll say about him is that he’s a great human being. His leadership style, his work ethic, his ability to connect with people and listen (is excellent). He’s been great.”
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