Thomas Dimitroff

Biography

The Atlanta Falcons named Thomas Dimitroff the club’s new General Manager on January 13, 2008.

Dimitroff directs all aspects of football operations and, working with the new head coach of the Falcons, has final authority over all personnel decisions related to the signing of free agents, the selection of players in the NFL Draft, trades, terminations, and related decisions. He also handles coordinating other football-related activities with the head coach.  Dimitroff reports to club President Rich McKay.

“Thomas is a really bright football mind who comes out of the most successful franchise in sports today,” McKay said. “He has an excellent track record of evaluating players, and I certainly look forward to working with him.”

An 18-year player personnel veteran, Dimitroff comes to Atlanta from the New England Patriots where he spent six seasons in total, and the last five as Director of College Scouting. In this position, he was responsible for overseeing area scouts who evaluate all of 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, following last night’s 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC Divisional Playoff game, were scouted, evaluated, and later drafted at Dimitroff’s recommendation. Some of those players 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 Willfork. During his five years as the Director of College Scouting, the Patriots had a 75-17 record, and they won the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

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 the 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 was born in Barberton, Ohio, and 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.