Thomas Dimitroff: Is He Really On The Hot Seat?

Thomas Dimitroff is in his 8th season as General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons. Though his teams finished above .500 in each of his first five seasons as Falcons GM, including four trips to the playoffs, Dimitroff was very much on the hot seat after two consecutive, massively disappointing seasons in 2013-14. His partner in crime HC Mike Smith was let go after a 6-10 2014 Campaign.

Fortunately for Thomas Dimitroff, he appeared to have a little more wiggle room with Falcons Owner Arthur Blank than Smitty. Dimitroff proactively brought in former Kansas City Chiefs GM and longtime friend Scott Pioli into the Falcons’ War Room to make smarter draft picks in the middle rounds. I believe that his working relationship with Pioli on building a better football team through the draft allowed for Thomas to play a part in the new coaching search.

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Thomas Dimitroff immediately connected with Dan Quinn who now becomes his new partner in the Atlanta Falcons’ War Room as the new head coach of the team. Perhaps getting a second wind with the organization, Dimitroff and Quinn made five outstanding selections in the 2015 NFL Draft, getting tremendous value in rounds in one through five. Dimitroff reportedly was on a different wavelength with Mike Smith towards the end of Smitty’s tenure in Atlanta when it came to draft picks.

You can really feel a sense of rejuvenation emanating from Flowery Branch in 2015. While you normally get that feeling when a new coaching regime comes to town, it still seems more pleasant than normal. The optimism seems a bit odd for a team that has won only 10 games the last two years combined. But that doesn’t guarantee that the first year in the Dan Quinn Era will be a success. What happens to Thomas Dimitroff if the 2015 Atlanta Falcons don’t make the playoffs?

-= Falcons All-Time Lists: Top 5 RBs =-

It might sound a little strange given how hot his seat was last year, but I don’t think Thomas Dimitroff is going anywhere regardless of how the 2015 Atlanta Falcons perform. 2015 would only be his second season partnering with Pioli in the war room and his first working with Dan Quinn. Unless we can see a major fallout between TD and the rest of the Atlanta Falcons’ front office this fall, he will stay in Atlanta even if the Falcons are a sub-.500 team for the third year in a row.

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Look at the New York Jets changing GM’s in the midst of a coach’s tenure. Rex Ryan didn’t have a GM he trusted and then he was basically run out of town even after taking the Jets to two AFC Championship Games as head coach. It’s almost taboo to move a GM and keep a HC. So I’d like to believe that if Arthur isn’t satisfied with the product on the field after two seasons of the Quinn/Dimitroff partnership, then he would pull the plug on that tandem.

Even now that seems unlikely given the incredibly favorable schedule in 2015 for the Atlanta Falcons. I can’t see the team doing worse that 6-10 this fall. If Coach Q has better clock management skills, look for the Atlanta Falcons to finish above .500 and contend for a playoff spot in 2015. Love him or hate him, Thomas Dimitroff will be the GM of the Atlanta Falcons at least for the next two seasons. If the team does well, he will have spent a decade in the Falcons front office. Get here now, football season! Rise Up, ATL!

Next: Richard Smith: Who Is The Falcons' New DC?

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