Hear Thomas Dimitroff talk about ...

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this month's NFL draft

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Thomas Dimitroff admits he's learning the business side of running the Atlanta Falcons. After all, he's spent 18 years almost exclusively on the player personnel side of things – heading up scouting departments, tracking college prospects and writing reports on players from the farthest reaches of professional football-dom.

But the mere fact that Arthur Blank would turn to a man with no formal front-office experience leading a football team – a man who, for almost two decades, has traveled the game's back roads from Birmingham, Ala., to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – speaks volumes about Blank's priorities for his franchise.

Winning. On the field. With quality people. Not overnight, not years from now, but as soon as it is reasonable. After that, the rest will fall into place.

"To me, it's about being positive, passionate and having perseverance," says Dimitroff, the Falcons' new GM. "It's so important to have that culture and vision; to have people who want to come to work; who can get knocked down, pick themselves up and not sulk about things. We don't need people like that in our offices; we need people who are resilient, excited and passionate about wanting to win."

"Resiliency" isn't a word initially that comes to mind when contemplating the 2007-08 season of the Atlanta Falcons. Last year's campaign has to rank (unofficially, at least, since morbid records such as these aren't kept anywhere) as one of the worst seasons ever endured by any sports franchise, of any kind, in history.

But the team's final three games, in which the Falcons were competitive and a starting quarterback may have been discovered, just might have begun a string of good fortune for the franchise. Last month, the Falcons signed the team's four highest-rated free agents, including new starting tailback Michael Turner. And this month (after Dimitroff won a coin toss between Atlanta, Miami and Kansas City), the Falcons have the third pick in the NFL draft's first round.

"In no way do I perceive this as a daunting task, but a legitimate challenge," Dimitroff says. "With the people around us already and the people we may bring in; with a new coaching staff and players we continue to add to our roster, it's my hope we can have this team concept and fly around the football field, and be competitive."

Dimitroff, formerly the head of college scouting for the New England Patriots, was named Falcons' GM while the NFL playoffs were underway, after Blank's overtures to the high-profiled Bill Cowher and Bill Parcells were turned down. Those rebuffs led Blank, his management team (including former GM Rich McKay, who retains the title of president) and advisors to a nationwide search.

What made Dimitroff a potential GM candidate in the first place was his time in New England, a franchise that, despite its Super Bowl loss, still is considered to be the NFL's model organization.

"I'd been thinking about a leadership role higher than I had at New England, which was a position of leadership, but in middle management," Dimitroff says. "But I was advised by a number of GMs whom I respect, who said I had to think in terms of a bigger picture should a GM's job come open.

"It's like being on the bench at Pop Warner. When that opportunity comes, you better be ready, because that starting chance may not come again. This is a big challenge, but I'm not one who runs away from a challenge.

"Now, I'll be able to step back and use my big-picture mind that sometimes was squelched in middle management. I'm looking forward to diligently delegating; I'm excited about being able to use broad-stroke vision."

Blank and Dimitroff hit it off almost immediately (in another strange twist to the Falcons saga, Dimitroff was hired after a satellite video interview). "It was interesting; during our interview, we had a lengthy discussion about leadership approaches, and Arthur's approach is very much the same as mine," Dimitroff says. "It's about being direct and being on the same wavelength that excites me about going forward, because Arthur can be there as a sounding board."

Blank's involvement has led to a lot of speculation in the world of sports ownership that he is too close to the team's football operations. But Dimitroff stresses that he and new head coach Mike Smith are guiding all player personnel decisions.

"This idea that I learned at New England, and seeing how successful they are, is the pyramid-like decision-making model to which the Patriots adhere: that we have people involved in that pyramid, and they hold a certain spot there; and that pyramid continues to the very top with myself and Mike, and Arthur, when appropriate," Dimitroff says. "I feel strongly that you can't have too many people involved in the decision making. I saw at New England, season  in and season out, the process of sifting through all of the information and analysis, and finally making the decision together. "I don't want to be the only decision maker on the football ops side, but Mike and I making the decisions together in the end."

Dimitroff's first few days at Flowery Branch weren't spent with endless meetings with department heads or espousing pep talks to the troops, but rather were defined by a single, narrow focus.

"To a man, every GM with whom I spoke said, ‘Go in; step back; tackle one task at a time; and don't try and take on the whole world,'" Dimitroff says. "So my first job was to focus 100 percent on landing a good coach, and I'm very happy with [former Jacksonville defensive coordinator] Smith.

"Then the next idea was move onto free agency, and I'm excited we're on the tail end of that. Where I'm at right now is focusing on the draft (April 26-27), as well as sprinkling in other items such as dealing with department heads on topics like IT, strength and conditioning, player programs and the like, but our priority right now is the draft."

The Falcons' draft board probably resembles a lot of constantly moving puzzle pieces, none of which likely will find their final resting spot until the draft finishes its second, and final, day. "We're constantly looking at our board, and analyzing and reanalyzing our roster based on what may be there in the draft, what may be there in free agency, and what's already on our roster," Dimitroff says. "It's comparative analysis, and I can't stress that enough. So we'll continue to stack our draft board, and examine a possible need for a cornerback or a tight end, see what we have on our present roster and what may be available in free agency. That will set the tone for where we move from there."

Dimitroff acknowledges the fact that repairing the fractured Falcons psyche from last season's turmoil is a big challenge, but he doesn't shy away from the fact that change can be uncomfortable.

"Look at New England, when Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli first came in. They had to step on a few toes, and it wasn't always comfortable. It won't always be comfortable in our building, either. But if you're instilling change, you have to communicate with everyone. You have to state why we're redeveloping the org chart; you don't just say, we're doing it, and if you don't buy into it, you're out the door.

"I want to give everyone a chance to buy into this system. If they don't, maybe it's time to part ways. But if they can buy into this system that Mike Smith and I are implementing, and believe in the same ideas, we can be successful together."

Dimitroff left a secure position in a solid organization, to take a job with a franchise reeling from one catastrophe after another. "It's true, I contemplated the security I might have had with New England," he says, "possibly 10 more years. But I also know we all have goals, and [a GM's] job was a long-term goal of mine."

Maybe most important of all, the new GM stresses clear lines of communication throughout an organization. "What I want to do is bring in my ideas, restructure the environment and positions within the building – on the football ops side, at least – and bring it to where we all have one common goal, and that we all know this idea of indisputable role understanding.

"That's a very important lesson I learned in New England, and I'll use the example of [New England running back] Kevin Faulk," he continues. "Here's a fantastic football player who may only touch the football eight to 10 times a game, and he accepted that. He excelled in that role. And he helps that team be successful. What I'd like to do is have those team guys, who buy into their role and into the team concept. We all have egos and personalities, but when we get on the practice field or playing field, we all have a common goal and that's being successful.

"On the management side of things, we have to be clear on what our roles are, literally in black and white, and not get into muddying the waters or obfuscation. Let's not make things so difficult; the process doesn't always need to be so intricate. Clean lines and clean organizations lead to clean, clear decisions.

"Lucid communication and indisputable role understanding. In a nutshell, that's what I believe is important."


The Dimitroff dossier

An 18-year player personnel veteran, Dimitroff comes to Atlanta from the New England Patriots, where he spent six seasons, the past five as director of college scouting. In this position, he was responsible for overseeing area scouts who evaluate all the nation's college prospects while tracking the development and availability of drafted players.

Many of the players responsible for New England's NFL-best 17-0 record were scouted, evaluated and drafted at Dimitroff's recommendation. Some of those include: CB Asante Samuel, S Brandon Merriweather, G Logan Mankins, C Dan Koppen, RB Laurence Maroney, TE Ben Watson, CB Ellis Hobbs III, DE Ty Warren, and NT Vince Wilfork. During his five years as director of college scouting, the Patriots had a 75-17 record, and won the Super Bowl in 2003 and 2004.

For nine seasons prior to his tenure with New England, Dimitroff served in the scouting departments of three different NFL teams. His first NFL personnel opportunity came with the Kansas City Chiefs as a part-time scout in 1993. One year later, he was given a full-time opportunity as an area scout for the Detroit Lions, where he served until 1997. Before being hired by the Patriots, Dimitroff worked in the scouting department of the Cleveland Browns from 1998-2001.

Dimitroff can credit the beginning of his scouting experience to the Canadian Football League, where he worked during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. In 1992, he moved to the World League where he scouted all NFL, CFL and World League rosters while tracking player transactions. He also served two seasons as scouting coordinator for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Dimitroff played football throughout college and captained his team at the University of Guelph (Canada) from 1987-1989. He is the son of Tom Dimitroff, who was a long-time personnel scout for the Cleveland Browns and an original member of the Boston Patriots in 1960.

What's the future for Rich McKay?

In August 2007, Business to Business profiled Rich McKay who, at that time, held the title of president and GM. After the team's much-publicized troubles on and off the field last season, McKay no longer holds the GM's title.

McKay currently remains with the Falcons as team president. His two-year contract extension will keep him in Atlanta through 2010. McKay, who reports to Arthur Blank, will be responsible for marketing, finance, administration and all other executive duties. Also, he will continue to act as liaison to the league in all football and business-related matters, as well as direct the Falcons' efforts related to future stadium plans.

Speculation continues to revolve around Dimitroff's working relationship with McKay, who has gone on record as saying, "Thomas is a really bright football mind who comes out of the most successful franchise in sports today. He has an excellent track record of evaluating players, and I certainly look forward to working with him. My door is open and I'll be happy to help in any way I can ... I welcome the idea of bringing in someone who can give a fresh look at personnel, a fresh look at the system."

At the time of McKay's demotion, Blank also gave McKay a 17-month contract extension, demonstrating the owner's belief that McKay is not the type to meddle or sabotage things to make himself look better at Dimitroff's or new head coach Mike Smith's expense.

"Rich is among an elite group of NFL executives with the length and depth of experience he has, both as a general manager and a senior business manager, and this will serve Thomas well as he transitions to the Falcons," Blank said at the time of McKay's extension. "We're happy to extend Rich's contract, particularly given his demonstrated commitment to the Falcons, and we're depending on him to guide our club in many important business areas moving forward."


Photography by Jimmy Clemmons