Thomas Dimitroff has absorbed his share of criticism for picking the wrong players in recent years, but he seemed to have the room well-scouted. Truth is, if Falcons offensive linemen anticipated blitzes even half as well as Dimitroff did in a news conference Thursday, Matt Ryan never would be touched.
On whether he was concerned he would lose his job: “I’m human and I’m competitive. So of course you’re always thinking about that.”
On being targeted for criticism: “It’s warranted. I’ve made mistakes. I have to be accountable for it.”
On the oft-bemoaned oh-fer in the 2012 draft: “Highly disappointed. (Center) Peter Konz, not as a person but as a draftable player, ended up being a major blunder.”
It was 25 days after the Falcons played their final game and 20 days after owner Arthur Blank released a statement expressing confidence in Dimitroff. But he was a story Thursday because the organization finally let the general manager sit in front of a microphone. It was in many ways a silly exercise. Dimitroff could’ve said the same stuff three weeks ago when coach Dan Quinn held his postseason media coffee talk instead of allowing the GM-silence to feed into a blog and sports talk-fueled outrage. It was an organizational PR blunder (even if not a blunder on the scale of Konz).
Blank, Quinn and Dimitroff met for dinner three days after the season. Blank affirmed what Dimitroff already sensed — that he wasn’t losing his job. I wrote then, and I still believe, that it was the right call. For as many mistakes as Dimitroff has made, particularly an inability to find and develop offensive linemen and edge rushers: 1) A longer lifeline should be extended to the man who helped turn around a perennial losing franchise; 2) Quinn pushed for Dimitroff’s retention, and it made sense to give the two roster builders a second offseason together; 3) There was progress in the area of roster building over the past year despite two scheme changes, notwithstanding a six-game losing streak that extinguished playoff hopes.
Dimitroff deserves criticism for the recent misses (even if made in concert with former coach Mike Smith). Among those in the boneyard: Draft picks Konz, Lamar Holmes, Peria Jerry, Lawrence Sidbury, Corey Peters and Dezmen Southward; free agents Dunta Robinson, Ray Edwards, Jon Asamaoh and Brooks Reed (so far). The moves for late-career veterans Steven Jackson and Osi Umenyiora didn’t pan out as hoped/expected, but, like the trade for Tony Gonzalez, they made sense at the time for a franchise that seemed close to a Super Bowl. (Oops.)
Recent drafts have been better, but Dimitroff understands that’s not nearly enough to earn back everybody’s trust, especially his owner’s. Blank feels more loyalty to his general manager than he did his former coach (Smith), but he’s not going to keep Dimitroff next season unless there’s significant progress.
A make-or-break year?
“I believe every year is,” Dimitroff said.
Read that blitz, too.
“Any time you make mistakes — you can go on and on about the ‘Not For Long’ (league), and I understand that. This is eight years in. I feel like we’ve down some really good things, and I feel like we’ve made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes. I have to be accountable for it.”
And this: “I hope to do the best job I can to continue to earn back the trust of this fan base.”
Blank met with Quinn. Quinn backed Dimitroff. In doing so, the first-time head coach might’ve hitched his own career to Dimitroff. There is no doubt who owns more power in the organization, even though both report to Blank separately. Quinn controls the 53-man roster. Dimitroff picks the names off the draft board, but he isn’t going to pick or sign a player his coach doesn’t want.
It was amusing listening to both address the power issue Thursday.
“If you’re truly at loggerheads about a player, then you pass on that player,” Dimitroff said.
But if there’s a tie, who has the call?
Quinn: “He does.”
Dimitroff: “In the end, the head coach has to have the say because it’s his scheme.”
Got that?
The Falcons don’t have your typical flowchart. The hiring of former general managers Phil Emery and Ruston Webster as national scouts also gives them five former GMs in the building (with Rich McKay, Scott Pioli and Billy Devaney). That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Emery and Webster were effective enough scouts to become general managers. But the danger of an organization collecting too many former executives who aren’t inclined to want to do the grunt work of scouting any more and they’re just looking for a paycheck.
Dimitroff and Quinn both believe this will work. It needs to. Otherwise, next year’s news conference will be more immediate and there will be fewer smiles.
