HOUSTON — Way back when, Thomas Dimitroff worked on the grounds crew for the Browns, pulling tarps on and off the field, lining practice fields, getting in on the ground floor in his pursuit of an NFL front-office job.
The coach of the Browns at the time was Bill Belichick.
In 2002, Dimitroff was hired by the Patriots, coached by Belichick, serving as the director of college scouting.
Dimitroff evaluated players for Belichick — who demands something close to perfection — and left New England in 2008 when the Falcons hired him as their general manager.
Nine years into his tenure in Atlanta, Dimitroff and Belichick meet again, the student of sorts facing the master as the Falcons face the Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Sunday.
“Obviously, he’s incredibly intelligent and he’s got a focus and understanding and an awareness that a lot of people don’t have,’’ Dimitroff said. “I think he knows when to turn it on and he, again, knows when to simplify it. That’s something that I try have tried to be very smart about within our organization.
“There are times when you can muddy the waters too often by adding all of these new intricacies — whether it be analytics, which I believe in, whether it’s intricate sports ideas, which I believe in. I think there’s a time and a place to implement a lot, and there’s a time and a place to be particular about it, and that’s one of the things I definitely learned from Bill.”
Much of what Dimitroff learned from Belichick can be seen in how the 50-year old general manager put together the Falcons, a team stacked on offense and filled with young, fast players on defense. In 2011, Dimitroff sought Belichick’s counsel and, in a development that tells a great deal about both individuals, what Dimitroff did not do spoke volumes.
Dimitroff did not listen to Belichick.
The Falcons eyed Alabama receiver Julio Jones, wanting to pair him with strong-armed Matt Ryan. Dimitroff knew he needed to make a bold move to make it happen. He put together what at the time was a deal widely panned in NFL circles — sending five draft picks, including two first-round selections, to the Browns to move up 21 spots. It was a risky proposition, and before signing off on the deal, Dimitroff asked his former boss what he thought.
Don’t do it, Belichick said.
“When I called him, it was a big move and I knew it was going to be a monumental move and a potentially historical move — and not one that was going to be a real fan favorite,’’ Dimitroff said. “I expected at the outset of the conversation to hear that Bill was thinking about my best interest and telling me that that was one of those things that was going to be with me the rest of my career. Bill has always offered really good sagacious advice — I mean that’s him. He’s a very knowledgeable guy in many ways.
“I take what he says seriously, but also knowing where we were, it was right for our organization at the time.”
Dimitroff made the deal. The Browns, being the Browns, made him look good by failing to select one impact player with the five picks gifted to them by the Falcons. Jones set Falcons franchise rookie records for receiving yards (959) and touchdowns (eight). No one is saying the Falcons gave up too much for him.
Trim, impeccably and stylishly dressed, Dimitroff — a vegan and serious cycler — does not look as if he fell off the disheveled Belichick hoodie tree. His father, Thomas Sr., a longtime scout with the Browns, died in 1996. Dimitroff grew up in Canada, played defensive back at the University of Guelph in Ontario. While working on the grounds crew in Cleveland, he met Scott Pioli, who went on to become the Patriots’ general manager and picked a guy named Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft. Pioli currently works for Dimitroff as his assistant general manager in Atlanta.
“He works hard,’’ Belichick said of Dimitroff. “He knows the game. He did a real good job for us with skill players, defensive backs, receivers, linebackers, running backs, things like that. I’d say the stamp on the team, the thing that I would notice the most is just the speed, the team speed that the Falcons have.”
Two years ago, Dimitroff pulled the plug on his head coach, Mike Smith, and hired Dan Quinn away from the Seahawks. A forward thinker, Quinn and his GM are in lockstep on how to build the Falcons, and the result is the second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
