Thomas Dimitroff

Biography

The Atlanta Falcons named Thomas Dimitroff their new General Manager on Jan.13, 2008. But the foundation for Dimitroff’s ascension to an NFL General Manager’s post was constructed some 20 years ago around significantly positive influences from places like Miami (of Ohio), Kansas State, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and as far away as the Canadian Football League, as well as Ottawa, Hamilton & Toronto, Canada.

These are places where Dimitroff grew up around football and was immersed in the game during his formidable years as the son of a former NFL player, NFL scout and coach. But it is also places where Dimitroff learned his craft and forged his own identity in the business of scouting and finding talent to build a roster.

Dimitroff has earned his climb up the NFL mountain by working his way up through the scouting trails as a combine/BLESTO Scout, an Area Scout, National Scout, College Director of Scouting to General Manager.

You might say Dimitroff has been training for this opportunity in Atlanta all of his life.

“I believe because I’ve been around football since the day I was born, I’ve had the opportunity to see so many different facets of the game in so many different areas of a team,” said Dimitroff.

At every stop along the way, the theme was the same for Dimitroff. Listening and learning were his trademark tools. Listening and learning wherever and whenever possible.

His father was a big influence on his life. With an “old school” approach, Tom Dimitroff was a high school, college, and pro coach turned NFL scout (and a former NFL player for the Boston Patriots), and his lessons were ones of always being a professional, being accountable and responsible for your actions.

He took this knowledge and genuine desire for scouting players to the ultimate level. Dimitroff became Canadian Scouting Coordinator for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL in 1990. In 1992, he moved on to World League of American Football, where he scouted all NFL, CFL and World League rosters while tracking player transactions for the NFL’s developmental league.

His career aspirations brought him to the NFL and the Detroit. Lions where he became a College Scout in 1994. It was in his early years as Scout for the Lions that he was introduced to Atlanta for the first time (living in the Virginia Highlands area) while evaluating the Southeastern part of the country. From there, Dimitroff made his way back to Cleveland in 1998 as a College Scout for the Browns for four years before landing in New England in 2002.

Throughout all of his experiences being around football at different levels and by forging his own career path, the affable and approachable Dimitroff was plotting a course and had a plan for the day he received his opportunity.

“I’ve been directly or indirectly involved in every department under the football operations umbrella during my career,” said Dimitroff. “I’ve made a concerted effort to learn something new wherever I’ve been and such past experiences may help guide me here in Atlanta.”

Other key influences that have helped shape Dimitroff’s philosophy today and aided in his rise to General Manager include a number of veteran personnel people with tremendous credentials in the NFL. New England Patriots Vice President-Player Personnel Scott Pioli was instrumental in teaching Dimitroff the value of systemic specific scouting, where importance is placed on knowing the proper needs of your team and scouting players to fit the coaches systems. Pioli holds his scouts to very high expectations and his communication skills throughout every level of an organization was impressive to Dimitroff.

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick preached the concepts of team to a whole new level and indisputable role understanding, where everyone in an organization plays to their strengths and concentrates just on doing their job to the best of their abilities. Belichick’s intelligence and forward thinking coupled with organizational creativity left its mark on Dimitroff through the years.

Dimitroff credits former Lions Head Coach Bobby Ross with the way he handled people with his military-style disciplined approach and was meticulous in his organizational skills.

All of those influences were major building blocks for Dimitroff as he takes on the task of re-building the Falcons in 2008.

As Falcons General Manager, Dimitroff will direct all aspects of football operations and working with new Head Coach Mike Smith, has final authority over all personnel decisions related to the signing of free agents, the selection of players in the draft, trades, and related decisions. He will also handle coordinating other football-related activities with Coach Smith.

His youthful appearance belies a tenacious talent evaluator that boasts 18 years of experience in the player personnel trenches. Dimitroff, 42, comes to Atlanta from the New England Patriots where he spent the last six seasons — 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 scouting and tracking the development and availability of drafted players.

“I think there are two ingredients in being a talent evaluator,” said Ernie Accorsi, the retired long-time NFL personnel executive. “You have to learn under top people, which Thomas has done from his father to a championship organization in New England. But you also need that indefinable instinct to see talent. That can’t be taught. You can be a good evaluator without it, but not a great one. Thomas has that instinct.”

Many of the players responsible for New England’s history-making NFL-best 16–0 regular season record in 2007 were scouted, evaluated, and later drafted during Dimitroff’s tenure. Some of those players include: CB Ellis Hobbs III, C Dan Koppen, G Logan Mankins, RB Laurence Maroney, S Brandon Merriweather, CB Asante Samuel, DE Ty Warren, TE Ben Watson, NT Vince Wilfork and CB Eugene Wilson.

During his five years as the Director of College Scouting, the Patriots had a 77–17 overall record, and they won the Super Bowl in the 2003 and 2004 seasons while making a historic march on a perfect 2007 regular season.

Dimitroff played football throughout college and captained his team as a defensive back at the University of Guelph (Canada) from 1987–1989. He was born in Barberton, Ohio, in 1966. Thomas and his wife, Angeline, have a young son, Mason (born May 25, 2007).